


Masquerade

by sultrysweet



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-11
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-01-18 23:02:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 160,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1446061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sultrysweet/pseuds/sultrysweet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the Enchanted Forest, the dark curse is a failure. Emma and Regina meet at Emma's twenty-eighth birthday ball and all is fine until Regina realizes who exactly the blonde is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was meant to be a bittersweet day to end more bitter than sweet. The Evil Queen had prepared to enact the dark curse, to reclaim her happy ending, but the product of true love was on her way into the world.

No one was ready for her. Prince Charming had devoted most of his time planning ways to keep the kingdom. The Evil Queen worked hard on the curse that she didn't pay much attention to Snow's pregnancy. Snow White focused on keeping the baby safe and healthy in the womb when she wasn't busy worrying about the Evil Queen's plans of revenge.

No one thought the baby would be born an entire month too early. They thought they still had time until Snow felt the contractions and when that happened, everyone in the kingdom was informed.

The Evil Queen was in a rush as she heard the news in passing. She grabbed the box containing the heart of her prized steed and called upon the darkest of beings of the lands, those scorned souls with magic, those like her.

They gathered around a fire in the forest as the Evil Queen read the incantation. When all was said and done, she tossed the heart into the fire. It burned brighter as the smoke went from dark gray to purple, but the fire abruptly died.

“What,” the Evil queen angrily asked though gritted teeth.

The gnome pointed and laughed at her.

“You failed. A-ha. Ha! The Evil Queen failed. And we're supposed to loyally follow you? Ba-ha ha.”

The Evil Queen glared at the gnome as he carried on in his mocking tone. After he'd had a good laugh, she waved a hand out at him and turned him into stone.

If anyone else there had bothered to laugh or even crack a smile, they certainly hadn't after that display.

She didn't bother to glance around the group before she left in haste. Her only chance to gain the upper hand and take back the kingdom resided in the castle she once lived in.

She hopped into her black carriage and charged her horses in the direction of the castle. When she reached the grand palace, she sent her army after the guards.

Nothing shall keep me from this child, she thought. I will have my happy ending.

She didn't wait for her men to tell her the halls were clear. She crept into the back entrance, one she'd used often at one time to escape her depressing reality, and followed Snow's screams.

She grinned as she hurried down the long corridors, glad to know she wouldn't miss the tiny life in some final escape plan.

She rounded a corner and was greeted by a few alert guards. They ran at her full speed with their heavy weapons, but she threw out both of her hands and flung the guards across the marble floor.

The first two guards knocked into the other three and forced them on the floor like bowling pins. The amount of men told the Evil Queen she'd reached the right corridor.

But Snow's yells had stopped and she was left to listen for other indications to their location.

Then the baby cried.

She grinned again as she darted for the door the cries sounded from.

She burst inside to see Prince Charming crowded over Snow White and the little pink baby wrapped in a stitched white blanket, the name Emma embroidered on the side with purple lace.

“Emma,” the Evil Queen breathed as she stared at the baby girl and left her lips parted after the name fell from them.

Emma squirmed in Snow's arms and turned to face the Evil Queen as her cries died down. She was able to open her eyes for a fleeting second, her emerald green orbs drawing the Evil Queen in like a moth to a flame.

Charming stepped away from the bed and drew his sword when the Evil Queen tried to come too close for comfort.

She tore her eyes from Emma only when she felt the tip of his sword press against her neck.

She looked up at Charming and closed her mouth. She glanced down at the sword then met his gaze again.

“You will not lay a hand on her, Regina,” Charming barked.

She looked over at Emma again and watched Snow hold the girl closer to her, more protectively and tighter than when she'd entered the room.

“You assume I mean the girl harm,” Regina asked as she kept her eyes glued to Emma.

“Of course,” Snow answered. “You want nothing more than to punish me and what better way to do that than hurt what I love most.”

Regina flashed a crooked smirk as she looked at Snow.

“It was wise of you to remember that,” she slowly said.

“And it was not wise for you come here,” Charming piped up.

“What shall you do to me, Prince,” she briefly flirted. “You will not kill me. Not in front of your daughter.”

“No, but I will kill you outside the palace.”

Regina laughed and shook her head.

“You will not kill me at all,” she cockily said.

“No? How do you know what I will and will not do?”

“Simple. You will have no grounds to do so.”

“You have done much evil,” Charming started. “Anyone would see your death as justified and long overdue.”

“Not anyone. The people of your kingdom, yes, but you forget. I have friends of my own, friends with magic. Watch out for your little girl. I shall be back for her. For Emma.”

Regina looked from Charming to the baby.

Emma fidgeted in Snow's arms and groaned in protest of her mother's hold.

Regina grinned as she looked back at Charming, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

Charming slowly went slack jawed and tightened his grip on his sword. He closed his mouth after a short moment and clenched his jaw.

Charming jabbed his sword forward, but the Evil Queen vanished in a puff of purple smoke. He stumbled forward, but caught himself before he could fall to the floor.

Emma started to cry.

He turned to Snow and Regina reappeared through another puff of smoke.

Regina leaned in and kissed Emma's forehead.

Emma quieted down as Regina's lips lightly pressed against her skin.

“Soon enough, my dear,” she said in a low, sultry tone as she brushed her fingertips over wisps of golden blonde hair.

When Snow tried to pull Emma away from Regina, the Evil Queen smiled down at the baby and disappeared once again. Charming and Snow looked at each other with worry and confusion. They looked at Emma as she started to cry again and squirmed in Snow's protective embrace.

The Evil Queen reappeared at her dark palace on the farther part of the kingdom's outskirts. She stood by one of the windows and stared across the forest at the grand castle.

She touched her fingertips to her lips as she thought about kissing Emma's forehead. Though the connection had been brief, when she'd kissed the girl she'd felt something deep. A heavy, magnetic pull that drew her to the Princess.

“Regina, is that you,” a short, round man asked with a twinge of hope in his voice.

His hair consisted of more salt than pepper in terms of color and his face had started to pale with age as his eyes sunk with years of wear and tear. He looked tired and worried as he walked into the dismal room, a look he wore since Regina let darkness consume her heart and soul.

Regina dropped her hand from her lips to her side and turned to face the man.

“Yes, father,” she answered.

“Where did you go? There was trouble at the palace.”

“I'm aware.”

“Oh, Regina. Tell me you were not the cause of it.”

“You wish for me to lie to you?”

Henry sighed and looked down at the floor.

“Why must you challenge the kingdom?”

Regina angrily glared at him.

“I am still the Queen. I should be ruling them, but since Snow White and her pathetic husband took the kingdom from me, I will destroy their happiness.”

“How did you get this way? My daughter loved to ride horses and climb trees. She had hope and her smile would glow brighter than any star in the sky. The woman in front of me...isn't her. ”

“She is no more. This is who I am. You should know better than most how that came to be. You let it happen.”

Henry shook his head.

“I did no such thing.”

Regina scoffed.

“You think you played no hand in this? In what I have become? I am this way because you did not stop her. When mother pushed me to be someone I wasn't and didn't want to be, you stood by and watched. When she married me off to the King, you insisted she wanted all the things for me she never had. I told you I didn't want her life, that I was angry all the time, and you blamed it on cold feet. I love you, but you did nothing to stop her. You let her carry on and make me unhappy, let her punish me for doing silly things most girls my age would get to do.”

“Regina, darling-”

“No,” Regina shook her head. “You didn't protect me. You knew how she was and you didn't protect me.”

He looked down at his feet and nervously played with his hands. He looked sad, guilty even.

Regina clenched her jaw and tried not to cry as she thought back on the damage her mother had done. She slowly looked down and hid her eyes from Henry's view as he looked back up at her.

“I-” Henry started, but Regina grimaced as she held back tears and vanished.

Henry frowned as he watched the purple smoke appear and drift upward before it dissipated.

Regina took herself to the stables. She hadn't been there in a while and it looked the same as the last time she'd visited, Daniel's grave included.

She reached out and touched the small monument. After his death, she'd fought to give him a proper place of final rest, a painful reminder of the fatal day she lost her true love. Not even her kiss would bring him back to life as she cried over his lifeless body. The day she lost him was the day her heart started to go cold.

She gripped her fingers around the top of the grave and fell to her knees in her tight black dress. She suddenly began to cry, the first time since the night she'd lost him when she'd been able to cry over him.

Her body shook as a violent and loud scream ripped itself from the pit of her stomach.

She only had two people to blame for her misfortune and one of them had been sent to Wonderland.

She wanted to be a queen so badly that she tried to live vicariously through me. So I made her a queen. Queen of Hearts, she thought even as she cried. Ironic considering she doesn't have one.

Usually thinking of her mother stopped her from crying and helped her regain her tough, steely exterior. It started to work until she pictured her mother's face. She saw her mother standing in front of her with a smile before she was to marry the king. The picture then morphed into the memory of her mother at the stables with a stone cold glare as she looked down on Regina. From there, the memory played out until every last detail flooded her mind.

She started to cry as hard as she had before she'd thought of her mother and dropped her hand from the grave to her lap as she sat back on her ankles. Her make up started to streak down her face as she shook her head and wept.

“Daniel,” she whispered as his face made it to the foreground of her thoughts.

She cried for a few more minutes then pushed herself back onto her feet. She brushed her tears away and looked down at his grave. She stood still in front of it as a calm wind blew past. She closed her eyes and let the wind hit her face.

After a long while, uncertain of definitive time, her tears had stopped and she felt in control of her emotions once again. When she regained her regal stature, she took a deep breath and magically transported herself to a new place.

Regina popped in to visit an old friend and enemy, the man who'd originally given her the dark curse.

“Hello, dearie,” Rumpelstiltskin grinned as he stepped closer to his jail cell. “To what do I owe this surprise visit?”

“You know why I'm here,” Regina bitterly spat at him as she approached the enchanted jail cell. “The curse didn't work.”

“And you wish to put the blame on me?”

“It was your curse. Of course, I blame you.”

“That curse should have worked, dearie. Whatever went wrong is because of something you did.”

Regina clenched her jaw again.

“Maybe you misunderstood the ingredients,” he suggested.

“No, that's impossible and don't think to tell me I said the spell wrong either because I didn't.”

“Then I cannot help you.”

Regina blew out a sigh through her nose as she tried to keep her anger at bay.

“Did you see her,” he asked.

“See who?”

“The young Princess.”

“Yes, I saw her.”

“You're the one who was at the castle earlier. The one everyone is talking about.”

“How do you know about that? It happened not too long ago.”

“You forget, dearie, I have eyes and ears everywhere. How does she look? Healthy, I presume.”

“She's beautiful,” Regina softly confessed after a moment.

Rumpelstiltskin knowingly smirked.

“Oh, well. The curse is irrelevant now,” he said after a moment.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the way you carried on earlier today at the palace. Snow White and Prince Charming are working on a way to keep you out.”

“What? How do you know this?”

“What they need is something only I could provide for them. I guaranteed them a solution that not even your magic could penetrate.”

“Why would you do that,” she angrily asked as she tried to keep her voice from hitting a shrill octave.

“Because my freedom depended on it, dearie,” he grinned.

“They're letting you go?”

“Indeed they are. In about an hour's time, when they finishing putting up the barrier, they will come back to release me.”

Regina shook her head.

“They are fools to think you are less than a threat compared to me.”

“That they are, but that's not to say they didn't give me conditions upon my release.”

“And what provisions did they request of you?”

“As long as I leave their precious kingdom and the people in it alone, I can live freely beyond the Enchanted Forest.”

Regina rolled her eyes.

“That means nothing.”

“I know that, dearie, but their only concern now is their beloved daughter and you're the only one that threatens her existence. I do believe I owe you a 'thank you' for that.”

Regina tried to keep her breathing even, steady, as she clenched and unclenched her fists. She stared down at the dirt covered ground beneath her feet as Rumpelstiltskin coiled his hands around the bars of his unbreakable cell.

“I suppose that giving you some warning of what's to come would say that well,” he added after a moment of pause to enjoy the view of her weakened state.

She immediately, though gracefully, raised her head and locked eyes with the Dark One.

“What do you know?”

“You will have a second chance at the Princess. In twenty-eight years time, something major and unnoticed will occur to the magical barrier they're casting over the kingdom. Our dear Emma will be unhappy and she will try to leave the kingdom. She will successfully create a hole in barrier. Find the hole and you find your way back in.”

“Twenty-eight years? Why such a long time?”

“Because as the barrier keeps you out, it will also keep her in. Our lovely girl Emma does not like to feel trapped. She's much like you, adventurous.”

“She isn't even ten minutes old yet, how would know that?”

“I am speaking of the future, am I not? I can tell you she will not like being caged inside the kingdom.”

“Then why would she wait twenty-eight years?”

“There will be plenty of things in her way, keeping her from doing what she wants, nones of them to which I can see right now. But just before her twenty-eighth birthday, she will get what she wants...and so will you.”

Regina knew Rumpelstiltskin was a tricky man to believe. He wasn't even a man anymore, hadn't been in a long time, but she liked the sound of getting what she wanted. Even with her mother out of the way, she still wasn't happy. She fought like hell to make sure she got her way, but those damn Charming's were persistent. Their drive to fight back was how she lost the kingdom after all. She wouldn't let them take anymore away from her and if she had to wait twenty-eight years to finally get her way, she would.

“What shall I do in the meantime,” she asked him.

He grinned.

“Live your life. Do what you want when you want as long as you don't cause a fuss. Go back to your own palace and wait. Keep your hands busy. I don't really care what you do. That's not what's important. What happens when you can get past the barrier is what's important.”

“And I have a feeling you're not going to divulge anymore information about how I'm to do that?”

“No, but I will be back to see you when the time is right. I speak only the truth, dearie, and you will have your day. You will find what you are looking for.”

“And I don't have to make a deal with you for what you have provided me?”

“No. I told you, this is repayment for going after Emma. If it had not been for you, Snow White would not have come to me for help and I would still be condemned to this awful place.”

She furrowed her brow in confusion as she looked him over.

“What shall you do once you are free,” she asked.

“Roam the lands maybe? Do as I please. Snow White and her Prince will hear no more about me after I am free. I will be no problem, no worry, for them and that is the arrangement. I will be free so long as I keep to myself, away from them.”

“That doesn't exclude other cities, does it.”

“Afraid not,” he smirked. “Again, I owe that all to you. They only want to protect their own and since you are the only one interested in attacking them, they have a narrow focus on possible future troubles.”

“Great. I set free a monster,” she muttered to herself, though Rumpelstiltskin heard her with perfect clarity.

“Yes, with your desperation and recklessness. Maybe now you will learn from your mistakes.”

Regina looked at him.

“Thank you for the information,” she said then turned to leave.

“Oh, before I forget. There is one more suggestion I have for you.”

Regina turned back around to face him, a bit wary as she tried not to let him play her.

“Twenty-eight years, as you said, is a long time. You should do your best to keep yourself young. Vanity will be your only friend in the lonely years to come.”

***          *          ***

The blonde Princess stood in front of the mirror on a platform in a ball gown during another tiring dress fitting. Looking her best for yet another sheltered birthday party bored Emma. She didn't want to be a Princess if it meant she had to live a dull life.

She'd tried several times before in her youth to run away, leave her unsatisfying duties behind with her parents, but someone would always stop her before she got the chance to go far. She frowned at the memories that filled her head. She would be twenty-eight in a few days and she'd never left the kingdom.

“Oh, Emma, that dress is looking more and more stunning every fitting,” Snow White warmly smiled at her daughter.

Emma sighed.

“Yes, but...how many more fittings do I need to attend before it's to your liking?”

Snow frowned.

“You don't like it,” she asked as she shook her head.

“I...do, but I don't want to waste a perfect day inside the palace when I could go out and explore.”

“Emma, your father and I have told you there is nothing to enjoy outside the kingdom.”

“Yes there is. You got to see the world outside the palace walls. Why can't I?”

“The Evil Queen. That is the only thing waiting for you beyond the barrier. How many more times do I need to remind you of her and her intentions to harm you?”

“She has not tried to get through the barrier in all the twenty-eight years she had the chance.”

“Maybe she has, but she no matter how hard she tries she will not be successful. Magic more powerful than hers was used to create it and as long as the barrier walls are up, she will never come to harm you.”

Emma shook her head.

“I don't think that's what she wants.”

“Of course it is. She tried to take you from us the night of your birth!”

“I know,” Emma rolled her eyes as she knew she'd have to hear the same old story yet again.

“She nearly ripped you from my arms.”

“No, she didn't.”

“You question what the Evil Queen tried to do to you? Every night I warned you about her in stories, telling you the truth about what she did. You would not remember that night. You had only just been born.”

“You tell the story differently now. You told me she got around father and could have taken me, but she left before she tried anything. If she was as close as you say, she would have taken me if it was her true intention to harm me.”

“You are naive.”

“Am I?”

“Her last words before she left were 'Soon enough, Emma.' It was a warning she would one day come for you after she gave your father and I a blatant one.”

“Fine. Then why don't you tell me another story about the Evil Queen. Tell me why she wants to harm me.”

“I accidentally caused her a pain so great, her heart turned as hard as stone. The only thing she has to live for is revenge. She would love nothing more than to take you from us, knowing you are what we hold most dear.”

“So it's your fault she's evil.”

“No, darling. She did that herself. She had a choice.”

“What choice? Maybe I don't completely understand the situation, but I know that if something was taken from her, torn away from her, that she wants only revenge then her options were rather limited.”

“I knew her when she was good. She killed my father, your grandfather, Emma. She didn't have to do that. She could have stayed good. She chose to be evil, to be the way she is now.”

“Out of every story you have told me about her, it sounds to me like she was unhappy.”

“That may be so, but we do not kill to make ourselves happy. That is the difference between good and evil. It is what sets us apart from her and people like her and if you continue to defend her, I don't what I'll do with you.”

Emma glared at her mother, but remained silent.

“Now, focus your attention on the ball. There will be a lot of people to please there. You haven't exactly been the best choice for a Princess in years past. Maybe this year the kingdom will actually put faith in you because, you know, your father and I will not be around forever. One day you will rule this kingdom.”

“But I will never be Queen.”

Snow sighed as her frustration grew.

“Sadly, no, but that does not mean you should act any less like one. You are this kingdom's future. The people that live within the barrier are counting on you. You are aware that your father's health has been an issue as of late, especially with your childish behavior. He does not need more stress, but you continue to push and my health is not much better.”

“Ruling the people can do that to you,” she informed Snow.

“Yes, but raising an unruly daughter can also cause quite a negative impact as well.”

“If you are disappointed in me than why spare my feelings. You should say what you feel and I know you and father agree that I am too difficult to ever be proud of.”

Snow shook her head.

“We don't feel that way. We never have. Yes, you are difficult, but we will never regret having you. You are special and beautiful and we would not want you to be any other way.”

Emma sardonically laughed.

“What a lie. There are plenty of things you wish to change about me.”

“Enough,” Snow nearly growled.

“No. You wish I wanted this life. You wish I liked being trapped inside the barrier and would just accept my responsibilities as a Princess, as a Charming. I may not be perfect, but I like who I am. Your lack of pride for my spirit proves how much you would prefer me to be more like you.”

“I was spirited once too, Emma. Have you forgotten the stories I told you about the dwarfs and my search for your father when the Evil Queen tried to keep us apart, ruin our happy ending?”

“How could I forget? All your stories involved you on a horse riding through the forest. It was a struggle, yes, but it was worth it. You fought for the life you have now. I can't fight for anything when I'm locked away.”

“You have a lot of land to travel before you reach the barrier. You cannot possibly be bored with everything we have provided for you.”

“I am! I am bored and unhappy. Why do you think I tried to run away all those times before?”

“As I have told you, as long as she is out there you will never be safe.”

“I can take care of myself,” Emma shouted as she stepped down from the platform.

The seamstress hadn't finished her alteration and Emma's sudden movements tugged on the fragile material in her hand. The bottom of the dress ripped and destroyed the work the woman had put into it that day.

Snow snapped.

“The dress! Emma! I swear, I don't know how to handle you anymore.”

Emma balled up her fists as she tried not to scream.

“So don't handle me!”

Emma shimmied her way out of the dress and let it fall to the floor. She gave her mother an angry, dirty look as she walked toward the room door in only her undergarments and the heels she had been forced to wear to compliment the dress.

She left the room without another word and went to her bedroom. She went straight to the closet and grabbed the simplest outfit she owned. She had only had a few riding lessons when she was younger and even a few more after that when she turned twenty-five, but she never learned how to ride a horse well. She still had a riding outfit or two and rushed herself into one then fled the palace.

She grabbed a horse from the stables and a bow and arrow she had received on her tenth birthday and clumsily rode out the barrier with fierce determination.

No one followed her.

She stared at the glowing blue field as she slowed the horse to a stop. She tied the animal to a nearby tree, wrapping the reins around a thick branch, and defiantly stood before the barrier. She took a deep breath and released it in a violent sigh as she clenched her fists.

She charged the protection field at full speed, but when she connected with the magical barrier it shocked her and caused her to stumble back a few feet.

“Ah,” she hissed as she assessed the damage it did.

There was a bleeding gash on her left bicep. The magic had cut through her riding coat's tough material and struck her with a stinging pain in her entire arm.

She gritted her teeth and stared at it only a moment longer before she dropped her arm to her side and looked over at the barrier again.

She grabbed her arrow from the sack on her back and pulled out one of five arrows. She got into proper shooting stance and aimed for the confining wall. The arrow bent on impact and quickly fell into the lush grass below.

She tightened her grip around the handle of the bow and clenched her jaw as she released a frustrated sigh. She spent another moment staring at the barrier then threw down the bow.

She took a deep breath then ran full speed at the barrier once again. She hit the magical shield with a right hook and cut her knuckles in the process. She immediately started bleeding and shook her hand as she hissed again in pain. She didn't waste too much time or focus on her hand as she approached the barrier.

She raised both hands and smacked her palms flat against the magical wall. She felt a shock rush from the barrier through her hands but that time chose to embrace the pain. She pushed against the wall and freed herself from the confines of the kingdom.

With that sole thought, she suddenly felt a wave of something indescribable. The only thing she could think to call it was magic.

Her jaw dropped and she gasped as she felt it course through her veins. She didn't feel a shock anymore as her hands stayed pressed against the web-like surface of the barrier. She felt it weaken under the pressure of her hands.

She wobbled as the magic continued to move through her then gave one final push against the barrier. The barrier split and created a door as she brought her hands back down to her sides.

She puffed out a sigh as her ticket out of the kingdom stood right in front of her. She smiled wide out of relief and joy, utter happiness.

She stepped through the opening and chuckled to herself. She took a deep breath and released it in a content sigh. She left the horse behind and headed into the forest.

She wandered around for hours as she kept her course. She only went straight except on a few occasions that the main path curved left or right. After a while, she stumbled on a palace beyond the trees in a vast, secluded clearing. The grass was green and the sun warmed the area, but the palace was dark and appeared abandoned.

She felt a magnetic pull call out to her and drifted toward the place with wonder. When she got close to it, she circled around the charcoal stone and reached out to touch it. She gently brushed her fingertips against the stone and felt her heart race.

She made it around nearly a fourth of the palace when someone frightened her from behind.

“What are you doing,” an older man asked as he attempted to sound authoritative.

Emma jumped and immediately froze, her shoulders as well as the rest of her muscles tense.

“Show show yourself,” the man commanded.

Emma nervously, cautiously, turned around to face the gray haired man.

“Tell me. What is your name,” he asked.

“E-Emma,” she stuttered a bit.

The sickly man's eyes went wide in horror.

“Oh, please. ...You must leave at once.”

“I'm sorry. I only wanted to see the forest. I-”

“No, you must go. My daughter, s-she has chosen a dark path like her mother. If she sees you here, I-I'm afraid of what she might do to you. Please, Princess, le-”

The man was cut off by a sudden fit of coughing. He keeled over and placed a hand on his knee while the other covered his mouth.

“Are you okay,” Emma asked as she hurried to the man's aid.

He tried to talk between coughs but wasn't successful for several long seconds.

“No...stay ba-back! Go!”

A horse neighed in the distance as it approached the palace. His coughs got worse, more violent as he tried to push Emma away.

“Leave me,” he said before she coughed again. “That is my daughter.”

His words were strangled as his voice sounded like gravel.

“She'll take care of me, but she might kill you,” he fought to tell her as his lack of oxygen brought him to his knees. “Run.”

His last word to her was a whisper as she followed him to the ground. She cupped the side of his face with a look of concern as he laid on his back in the grass and continued to cough.

The horse galloped closer and closer, but Emma didn't want to leave. She stared down at the man and nearly cried not being able to help hm.

He pulled back his hand, away from his mouth, and Emma saw red around his mouth and in his palm.

“You are sick. I should get you some help,” Emma told him.

“Don't worry about me, child. Go! My daughter's vengeance leaves little room for mercy,” he warned. “And when she gets here, she will help me.”

Emma looked from the man to the horse in the distance. She couldn't tell the identity of the rider, but when she looked down again at the man she made the split decision to take his advice, to heed his warnings.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered as she pushed herself off the ground and ran back in her previously taken direction.

Not long after Emma disappeared behind the trees and continued to run back through the forest, away from the man, the rider came back to the palace.

“Father? Father!”

Regina leaped from her horse and rushed to her father's side. She knelt beside him and cupped his face much like Emma had.

She appeared young and healthy. Not much about her physical presence had changed since the day of Emma's birth.

“You were getting better,” Regina said as she looked him over.

The sight of his tired, aching body shivering in her arms as she placed his head under her right forearm brought tears to her eyes.

Henry coughed a few more times.

“Regina, my beautiful daughter...I...I love you,” he struggled to say.

Tears streamed down her face as she pulled him closer.

“You...are a smart girl. I believe..in you. You will find...your happiness. I wish...I could have done more...for you. I'm sorry.”

Regina shook her head.

“No, father, I'm sorry. Please don't leave me...I love you,” she cried as his coughing stopped.

He could no longer breathe. He didn't have it in him to fight anymore. He took his last breath in Regina's arms.

“No! Please,” she begged. “Please come back.”

She didn't know what to do. She did the only thing she could do, the thing she had done every time her father showed signs of declining health. She hovered her hand over his face and magically made him look well again, but it was only physical. It was too late to change anything else.

She stared down at him after she rested her hand on his chest. She started to cry again and held him. After only a few minutes, Rumpelstiltskin appeared.

“Sorry to see your father didn't make it, dearie.”

Regina glared up at him.

“I want to be left alone,” she told him.

“I told you when it was time I would be back, did I not?”

He waited for an answer he knew he wouldn't get and continued.

“Well, it's time. The Princess has left the kingdom. There is an opening in the barrier.”

“She will have to wait. I need to time to grieve.”

“Grieve for a couple days, but the day after tomorrow is her birthday. There's going to be a ball.”

“And? You told me she made an opening. I can go to the palace any time I please now.”

“As true as that is, timing is everything and the ball is your most opportune time.”

She sighed out of frustration then sniffled before she laid her father flat onto the grass. She wiped her tears and stood.

“Why is that,” she asked, clearly agitated.

“Because, dearie, it's a masquerade ball. No one will recognize you. No will know you. You will have complete anonymity and could just creep in. Whatever it is you intend to do to the girl can be done quickly and quietly. What...is it you you want to do with her?”

“You can see the future. You know what I'll do.”

“Oh, what you do and what you want to do are two completely different things. I can only see so much and even then I never know if it's a person's intention or if that's how things just...turned out for them.”

“Then what I want to do is none of your business. I will have my revenge on Snow White and that is all I will tell you.”

“As you wish, but I do hope you take the best chance you have at your revenge...at the ball. I will not be back unless you have something to offer in exchange for my help. Understand?”

“Of course. That was always our arrangement.”

“Good.”

He disappeared as fast as he'd appeared, in the blink of an eye.

Regina smoothed out her riding pants with her hands and took a deep breath.

If I have nothing else, I will have my happy ending, Regina thought.

 


	2. Chapter 2

For the last time before the party, Emma stood on a platform in her dress as she looked herself over in the mirror once again. She smiles as she turns from side to side to get a good view of the gown and paid no attention to the cut on her bicep.

Snow, however, paid close attention to the cut and not much else.

“How on earth did you hurt yourself this time,” Snow asked with a frown.

“Fell out of a tree,” she lied.

Snow disapprovingly shook her head.

“You're twenty-eight years old and you're still climbing up trees?”

“It helps me think,” she told the truth that time, though she hadn't been in a tree in the last week or so.

“Unbelievable,” Snow muttered in a sigh.

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Don't worry. I'll be a perfect lady at the ball tonight. In fact, I'll be a perfect, Charming Princess.”

As if on cue, Charming walked into the room with a hand over his eyes.

“Is everyone decent,” he asked as he held out his other hand to prevent himself from running into anything.

Snow smiled and giggled at her husband, still a clumsy but gallant man that could make her laugh after all the years spent together.

“Yes,” Snow answered as she reached out and touched Charming's hand.

She pulled it away from his face and he opened his eyes.

He smiled at Snow then turned his head and saw Emma on the platform. She nearly glowed as she stood there, his daughter all grown up.

“You look...beautiful, Emma,” he said as he almost lost all the words that came to his mind.

Emma smiled, happy to not fight with her parents, especially at her age, and looked herself over in the mirror again.

“You think so?”

She looked over her shoulder as she admired the low cut back to the dress that came together at the small of her back. Her long blonde curls cascaded to her shoulder blades and her green eyes popped in a cream colored dress.

The dress had gold accents in the swirly designs that started from the bottom and came up to short, tight sleeves that only covered her shoulders.

She turned back around and felt a tugging sensation in her chest. She felt it beat faster with anticipation for the night ahead and giddily smiled into the mirror.

***          *          ***

Regina fanned out her hair as she decided to wear most of it down and only a section of it in a butterfly clip, something unlike the Evil Queen's style. She examined her dark, alluring purple dress that wrapped tightly around her chest but left her shoulders and upper back bare to be gawked at under enchanting lights.

She grabbed her ring from the vanity and stared down at it as she remembered the person who gave it to her. Daniel.

The moment didn't last long as she reminded herself not to cry. She looked back into the mirror as she slipped it onto her right forefinger and took a deep breath. She needed to keep her thoughts focused on her goal for the evening, find the Princess and hold her hostage. She wanted to see Snow squirm, worry day after day what the Evil Queen could do to her precious daughter. Then, when Snow offered herself in place of Emma, she'd rip the betrayer's heart out and crush it with her bare hand.

She picked up her mask and held it in front of her face for a fleeting moment before she felt a familiar pull inside her. Her body temperature increased as her heart beat faster and she started to feel drawn to something in the distance, something she couldn't see.

Her stomach twisted into knots that made her feel uneasy as she questioned what was happening to her. After a minute, the tension dissipated and turned into fluttering butterflies that flew from the pit of her stomach up to her heart. The feeling festered, but after getting used to it she welcomed it.

She smiled in the mirror, a genuine smile. She liked the way she felt and liked even more the look on her face, a return of innocence she'd long lost.

She applied the finishing touches to her make up then grinned and went to fetch her driver. She stepped outside at the front of her dark palace and snapped her fingers. Magically, her black velvet-like carriage appeared in the near distance.

A horse whinnied and strode forward to greet her in a welcoming manner. The driver didn't seem the least bit fazed, like he'd been summoned that way plenty of times before, and just accepted it.

He stopped the horse when the carriage door was only a few feet away from the Evil Queen and stoically waited for her to climb in.

“Glad to see you finally know your place,” Regina grinned as she admired his silence. “I wouldn't want to hear you blathering on about nothing and ruin this night beyond salvaging like you've already done too many times.”

She opened the carriage door herself, as she'd told the driver to allow her to do to save time, and got in. She got comfortable than dismissively flicked her wrist in the driver's direction.

The driver smacked the reins and the horse neighed before they were on their way.

The ride took only ten minutes from her palace to the glowing blue barrier and the driver stopped as close to the barrier as his conscience willed him to get.

Regina carefully got out of the carriage with a frown as she glared at the unnecessary distance between them and the barrier.

“Could you have stopped any further from my destination,” she bitterly asked as she came around to the front of the carriage.

“I'm sorry, your Majesty, but it's not safe. I don't think you should enter.”

“Do you think I care for your concerns because I don't. Thank you for your services. You are no longer needed.”

She waved her hand at him again and a transparent purple field surrounded him then descended his body from his head to his feet.

He shook at the tingling feeling the magic gave him then rode off without his consent.

Regina turned to the barrier, bored from her interaction with the driver. She stopped close to the blue lights and inspected it. She noted the amount of magic that went into it, strong magic and strong will. Snow White and her Prince certainly wanted to protect Emma and rightfully so, but Regina wickedly chuckled as she knew they couldn't keep her from their daughter.

She held her hand up to the barrier and felt the energy both light and dark magic gave off like a shock wave. She closed her eyes and let the protective magic pump through her veins like her boiling blood that heated with anticipation.

Her lips parted as she felt that magnetic pull under the glow of the moon. She could hear party-goers in the distance and wanted nothing more than to find her way in. She desperately wanted to respond to the pull, to find the source of the tug in her heart and stomach though she already suspected the culprit.

She blew out a sigh and focused. She remembered baby Emma, the first time she saw the girl. She remembered the fleeting second of green eyes staring up into her brown eyes, how she felt connected to the little thing in her sworn enemy's arms.

“Emma,” she whispered against the barrier.

Her heart pounded once in her chest at the sound of the girl's name, but it wasn't her doing. It was part of the same magnetic pull, like a response to the name itself.

She started moving to her left, her eyes still closed as her hands hovered close to the barrier as she tried to feel out the opening. She let the pulling force guide her until her hands slipped inside the barrier, nothing there to defend the kingdom against her plan of attack.

She opened her eyes and smirked as she stared into the kingdom through unclouded vision, the barrier walls not in direct eye sight as she looked straight ahead.

She grinned and took a cautious step through the opening. Once on the other side of the barrier, she looked back at the blue light and chuckled at the harmless thing.

“If it's so powerful, how was one girl able to weaken it,” she asked aloud as she shook her head.

She turned back toward the grand palace and moved forward in the direction of the music and conversing socialites in the distance.

After several minutes, she stared up at the lively palace as lights flickered and glowed while people filed in and out of the place without a care. She looked around at all the masks and, though she couldn't recognize anyone, she knew she'd caused every single one of them to suffer during her reign.

She smirked at the thought and continued toward the palace. She crept in through the back entrance, like she had the night she tried to curse the land, and followed the music to the grand hall. Once there, out in the open, she watched couples dance and laugh across the marble floor in front of the staircase.

She remembered when the King, her late husband, had thrown parties in honor of his daughter and in recognition for the efforts of his people. She never really cared for them due to the fact that she only served as the King's plus one, an attractive woman to make him look good in front of the rest of the kingdom. No one even noticed her unless he kissed her cheek or guided her onto the dance floor. Even then, they really only looked at him, only praised him in whispers for his ability to find a Queen soon after his beloved wife's death.

She was a prize that only had so much worth and that didn't include knowing her name, at least until she took over the kingdom out of revenge. Then she made sure her name echoed loudly across the land. She made sure it echoed enough to instill fear in those without magic, those who had followed the King's lead and hung on his every word.

Before she had the man killed, he never once had a masquerade ball. He wanted to know who his guests were so he could thank them for their attendance. More than that, he wanted to know who he could trust. There were plenty of people in the kingdom and he had his doubts that everyone adored him.

He was right, but the person that wronged him in the end was the one person he thought enjoyed his company more than anyone else other than his daughter Snow. He was a fool to think Regina had been happy, but then her happiness was never high on anyone's list of priorities except her own.

So she hid in the shadows of the ball and watched. She reveled in the sight of the blissfully ignorant, though she couldn't care less about them. Her sole purpose that night would be to find Emma and finally make Snow pay for her betrayal. She'd waited too long to make good on her promise of “soon enough” to the girl and it was time she get her happy ending.

She glided past people and made her way up the stairs. She looked down the three corridors that branched out from the landing for a few moments each, one to the left, one to the right, and another straight ahead, before she made a decision. She sauntered down the left hall and tried not to look lost. She knew the palace better than most of the people inside it, but she didn't need to know how to get to the kitchen. She needed to find Emma. She couldn't risk being approached by anyone that would try to help her for fear of losing her patience and being recognized.

Suddenly, a fit of laughter irrupted from two women in the opposite direction and caught Regina's attention. She spun around in time to notice two brunettes head into the grand ballroom linked together arm in arm.

Of course, she thought as she made her way toward the room.

A different song than the one playing in the grand hall sounded from the ballroom.

When the Charming's threw a party, they made sure everyone was satisfied.

It may have been a ballroom, but the music that played was less than eloquent, especially in comparison to the music in the grand hall. She had never heard such music played at a royal party, but she would be lying if she said she didn't like it.

She glanced around the room and took in her surroundings. Though she couldn't be certain, she felt the room was filled with a much younger crowd. She didn't mind either because she'd done well to keep herself youthful and resilient. She didn't doubt for a second she would fit in.

The song changed and those dancing had to feel out a new rhythm. They took only seconds to correct their paces to match the beat of the music and paired off as called for by the song. It was slower than the last and meant to be shared with someone.

She stared at them and wondered why she couldn't have had that. She didn't need a party or royalty to dance with someone she loved. Ever since she became the Queen though, she never felt loved.

Someone cleared their throat behind Regina and caused her to jump before she turned to face her masked company.

“You don't look pleased,” the woman stated.

Regina looked her over. She wore a white dress with gold accents that accentuated her curves as well as her supple breasts. Blonde curls flowed down her back and her pale face was hidden behind a gold mask lined with diamonds.

“I...I only recently arrived,” she responded as she tried to make out the blonde's eye color, but couldn't.

“That's no excuse,” the blonde smiled. “What would make you happy?”

Regina inhaled and tried to think of a good answer. She couldn't very well tell the woman her plan.

“I suppose a dance partner would help,” she said after she scanned the room again.

“Are you looking for one or hoping one will come to you?”

“What difference would that make.”

The blonde laughed.

“Every bit of difference.”

The blonde looked at Regina from head to toe then held out her hand.

“Come with me.”

Regina frowned.

“Where to?”

“You'll see.”

Regina looked from the blonde's eyes to her extended hand. She looked around the room in case Emma had arrived.

The blonde pushed her hand closer to Regina's and ran the pad of her thumb across the back of the brunette's hand.

Regina whipped her head around and stared down at their hands.

“I promise where we're going will make you happy,” the blonde said as she invitingly ran her thumb back over Regina's hand in the opposite direction.

She pulled her hand away, though continued to offer it to Regina as she stared into the woman's eyes.

“Careful what you promise me, dear,” Regina said after a moment as she looked up into the blonde's eyes. “Break one and you'll only live to regret it.”

“I don't usually promise people anything because my promises are more like guarantees. You should consider yourself lucky,” she grinned.

Regina slowly smiled and took her hand.

The blonde led them out of the room and down an all too familiar corridor. She guided Regina out of the palace through the back, the secret way Regina had used to get in, and took her into the forest.

“You shouldn't be out here. It's dangerous,” Regina warned though she didn't resist the blonde's pull.

“Safe is boring. ...You're not scared, are you?”

Regina wickedly chuckled.

“Not many things scare me,” she confessed.

The blonde turned and flash a wide smile as she hurried forward.

“Good.”

She led Regina far enough from the party that the sounds from the palace were like a distant memory. They were deep within the forest, lit only by the bright moon overhead, when she spun Regina in front of her.

Regina's breath caught in her throat at the sudden change in direction.

The blonde gripped Regina's hands in hers and pulled her closer to avoid slamming the woman against the tree a few feet behind her. She took one of Regina's hands and placed it on her shoulder as she placed one of hers on Regina's hip.

She held Regina's left hand in hers and started to sway in the moonlight with the brunette.

“There's no music.”

The blonde smiled.

“Then let's make some.”

Regina frowned, confused by the blonde's words.

“How?”

“Listen.”

Regina tried to hear what the blonde must have heard, but couldn't find the rhythm. She shook her head.

“I don't hear anything.”

“Close your eyes.”

Regina stared at the blonde for several seconds.

“You don't trust me.”

“I don't even know you,” Regina defended.

“Well, I'd tell you, but then...what's the point of a masquerade ball if we know who everyone is? Takes the fun out of guessing, don't you think? ...Now, close your eyes.”

Her voice was soft and nonthreatening. Though it was a command, Regina felt safe enough that if she didn't want to do it, the blonde wouldn't force her.

She relaxed and finally closed her eyes.

“Listen,” the blonde repeated.

Regina tried not to think. She tried to do what she thought closing her eyes meant for her to do. She had to feel it, like magic. She had to feel their surroundings, feel nature. She listened as she shut out all other thoughts and pushed them far back into her mind so she could focus on the moment.

She heard leaves and branches rustling in the breeze. She heard crickets chirp like a ticking metronome, but the loudest sound she could hear was the beat of her own heart.

She parted her lips, her eyes still closed, as she fell in sync with the blonde. She tightened her grip on the woman's shoulder and took a step closer that still left a bit of space between them.

The blonde smiled at Regina as she stared at her peaceful demeanor. She pulled Regina in by the hip until their bodies pressed against each other. She moved her head beside Regina's and continued to dance with her.

Regina had opened her eyes the instant their bodies collided. She didn't tense, but if the blonde had been able to see her eyes in that moment she would've seen a brief panic flash in them. She rested her head next to the blonde's anyway and the panic left her brown eyes.

They danced for another minute until Regina pulled away to gaze into the blonde's eyes. She still couldn't tell the color, but they were soulful and alluring. She couldn't look away even if she tried.

“Do you want to go back,” the blonde asked.

Regina shook her head, but didn't say a word. She just kept staring into the blonde's eyes.

The blonde stared back as she tried to read the situation. She didn't know what to do, but she knew what she wanted to do. She let go of Regina's hand and used hers to cup the woman's cheek.

Regina parted her lips again and wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck.

The blonde leaned in and dropped her hand from Regina's face to her other hip. She held the brunette against her as she kissed Regina. She held back at first and used only her lips to sweetly capture Regina's.

Regina pressed her wrists into the back of the blonde's neck to keep her close during their next kiss as she opened her mouth to grant the blonde access.

Their masks scraped against each other as their kisses became more heated.

The blonde jumped at the opportunity and slid her tongue past soft lips to explore the depths of Regina's hot, welcoming mouth. She stepped forward and pinned the brunette against the tree she earlier avoided.

Regina moved a hand from the younger woman's neck down to her lower back. On the way down, her index and middle fingertips gently swept across the woman's exposed skin along her spine.

The blonde sighed between kisses and pushed her lower body against Regina's. She slipped a knee between Regina's thighs, though the two of them only felt the dresses ride up instead of the others' thighs against them.

Regina used the hand still at the younger woman's neck to peel off the blonde's left dress sleeve. The dress was tight around her breasts so the sleeve only fell halfway down her bicep and revealed her right shoulder. She let her fingers roam over the new expanse of smooth skin available to her as she ran her other hand up the younger woman's back, retreating from the blonde's backside.

The blonde pulled Regina closer as she gripped the brunette's lower back. They were as close as they could physically get with their clothes on.

Regina moaned and wrestled with the younger woman's tongue for a little longer. She touched a hand to the blonde's chest and pushed her away.

The younger woman frowned.

“Are you not happy?”

Regina smiled.

“I am.”

“Then what's wrong?”

“We shouldn't do this here.”

“But if we go back to the palace-”

“Unless you need to be there, we're not going to the palace,” she huskily said.

The blonde bit her bottom lip.

“Take me.”

Regina grinned.

“Gladly, dear. Follow me,” she said as she took the blonde's hand and led her out of the forest.

Emma would have to wait. Regina had needs and the blonde would more than satisfy them. It'd been too long since she'd been intimate with someone, since she'd felt connected to someone aside from the recent magnetic pull. It was time to enjoy the feeling.

She and the blonde hurried side by side to the barrier.

Inches away from the blue magic, the blonde stopped but kept her hand in Regina's.

“What's wrong?”

“You...you live outside the kingdom?”

Regina's jaw dropped slight as she slowly turned and stepped closer to the blonde.

“Yes,” she reluctantly replied.

Regina waited for the younger woman to say something, but she never did.

“Do you want to stay?”

The blonde looked back at the palace in the distance then at the barrier. When her eyes found Regina's she smiled.

“No.”

Regina grinned then pulled the blonde into a kiss. She turned to the barrier and headed toward the opening.

The blonde followed after her, their hands still clasped together, as they made their way through the barrier.

In that moment, Regina wished she could use her magic to get them to her palace faster, but she couldn't risk the exposure. Instead, she tried not to think of all the things she would do to the blonde back at her palace. She pulled the blonde in front of her and held her hands from behind.

“If I'm supposed to lead the way, tell me you'll push me in the right direction,” the younger woman said with a smile as she leaned back into Regina.

“Of course, dear. Push, shove, anything that involves my hands on you,” she purred in the blonde's ear.

The younger woman shivered against her. She devilishly grinned and used a hand to pull blonde tresses out of her way, her fingers still laced with the younger woman's. She leaned in and kissed the blonde's neck and followed it with a gentle bite.

The blonde moaned and let go of one of Regina's hands to reach behind her and tangle her fingers in her long, wavy hair.

“Patience,” Regina elongated the word in a sultry tone as her lips hovered over the younger woman's neck.

The blonde's heart began to race as her breathing quickened. She slowed down to a near stop and Regina slowed with her.

“We'll never make it to my place before sunrise if we stop now,” Regina told her.

“I don't care,” the younger woman said as she spun around in Regina's arms to face her.

She kissed Regina before the brunette had time to react. After a few quick but passionate kisses, Regina smiled and grabbed her by the waist. She lifted the blonde off the ground and steadied her in the air with her hand on the woman's backside.

The blonde wrapped her legs around Regina's waist and her dress bunched up around her hips.

Regina ran a hand up the back of the blonde's left thigh and made her moan the closer she got to her sex. She nibbled at the younger woman's bottom lip and teasingly stopped her fingers less than an inch away from the woman's center.

The blonde gasped as Regina continued to nibble on her lip and titled her head back.

“I want to go to your place,” she breathlessly said.

Regina let go of the blonde's bottom lip.

“Then be patient. You're the one who stopped.”

Regina set her down and took her by the hand again. She walked beside the blonde as they continued to her palace. She kept her hands to herself, other than the one in the younger woman's, to ensure they got to the palace without any further distractions.

After fifteen minutes, the two were staring at the dark castle as they desperately moved toward it.

Suddenly, the blonde felt a feeling of familiarity build up inside of her. She looked quizzically over the gloomy palace then looked around at the surrounding forest.

“I've been here before,” she said.

“Have you?”

“Yes, I believe I have. Just the other day, in fact.”

“The other day.”

The blonde nodded as she continued to stare at it. She thought about when she'd been there and remembered the man who had warned her about his daughter.

“He was afraid,” she mumbled as she meant to keep her thoughts from that point on internal.

“I'm sorry, dear?”

She stared at the palace for a few more seconds before she shook her head and turned to Regina.

“Nothing,” she said. “This place is really familiar. I doubt I've been here before. How could I when you and I just met?”

Regina flashed a smile and gave a single nod.

“Come along. I have quite a few ideas for what we can do inside,” she carnivorously grinned.

The blonde bit her bottom lip as she tried to contain her excitement, but she decided there wasn't much need as the brunette led her to the front door.

Inside, the younger woman looked around at the dimly lit palace. It almost mirrored her own, but with a few alterations to the floor plan and a much darker, dangerously alluring mood to it. Her palace was supposed to symbolize hope and light, salvation, while the brunette's seemed more like a symbol of loss and suffering.

“Shall we wait until I get you in my chamber or would you like to get on with it,” Regina asked with a smirk.

The younger woman grinned.

“Your bedroom sounds like a good place to start.”

“What if I can't wait another second,” Regina asked in a low tone as she backed the younger woman into the nearest wall.

“I...” the blonde was speechless, lost in Regina's brown eyes, though with the lack of light in the palace they looked pitch black.

Regina's grin faded as she looked over the younger woman.

“Have you ever done this before?”

“With another woman?”

“With anyone.”

The blonde hesitated.

Regina took a step back.

“Oh,” she said.

“That doesn't make me undesirable, does it?”

“No, of course not,” Regina shook her head and got closer again to reassure the blonde she spoke the truth. “But that does change things.”

“How?”

“We'll go slow. That is...if you want to do this.”

“I want to. I wouldn't have come this far if I didn't want to.”

“Are you sure?”

“I'm old enough. I should have a husband by now, maybe even a child or two.”

“And why is that not true?”

“Other things...mattered more.”

“Like what?”

“I don't know. Exploring. Being me. Doing what I wanted and not what everyone expects of me. I didn't choose the life I have now.”

“Do you not want the life you have?”

“I...” she trailed off then sighed before she continued. “There's something in me, this feeling I get from time to time. Whenever my parents try to marry me off or remind me about my responsibilities, there's something that tells me it's not right. Nothing in my life feels right. Not until...”

She trailed off again and looked down.

Regina hooked her index finger under the younger woman's chin and lifted her head to make eye contact.

“Until what, dear?”

“Until now.”

Regina smiled. She wanted to use the girl and move on, get back to her search for Emma in her thirst for vengeance, but there was one thing she couldn't do. Of all the horrible things she had done as the Evil Queen, she couldn't steal a girl's innocence the way she would've if she hadn't asked the blonde. She knew innocence was all too precious to destroy and rip apart, though she wanted to do many unsavory things to the younger woman in front of her.

Regina looked at the blonde and slowly leaned in. She sweetly kissed the younger woman and rested a hand on the blonde's neck.

“Have you ever done this...with a woman,” the blonde asked a moment after Regina pulled back.

She shook her head.

“But I've been with someone else.”

“And why aren't you with them?”

“Because I didn't love him. ...I could never love him.”

“Have you ever been in love?”

Regina flashed a smile but it quickly faded away as thoughts of Daniel came flooding to the surface. She wasn't reduced to tears, but she felt a pang in her heart.

“Yes.”

“What happened?”

“Other things mattered more,” she echoed the blonde's words as she looked back into the younger woman's eyes. “Not to me, but I didn't have control over my life then. Not like I do now.”

“What was it like? Being in love.”

“Safe...and not in a boring way,” she smiled at the blonde.

The blonde smiled back as she caught the reference the brunette made to her earlier comment.

“For the first time in my life, I no longer had to walk on egg shells. I was going to run away with him and we would be together. He wouldn't let me fall. He wouldn't hurt me. I didn't have to worry about my mother or the life she wanted for me. All I had was him and he felt like home. I knew in my heart wherever we went, I'd be home as long as we were together.”

The younger woman smiled at the sentiment.

“It's strange,” the blonde started. “That feeling I get that tells me everything is wrong...it kind of makes me feel like that. I feel weightless when it hits me. It catches me off guard and even though I've felt it my entire life, it makes me feel uneasy at first. But...after a few seconds, It makes me melt inside. Is that odd?”

Regina looked straight into the blonde's eyes when she took the woman by her hands. She shook her head and guided the woman away from the wall, toward the stairs. She led her up to her bedroom and lit the candle by the doorway. The soft orange light flickered as she positioned the blonde with her back to the bed.

She leaned in and kissed the younger woman again as she let go of the blonde's hands. She ran her hands up the woman's arms and stopped when her fingers touched the gold mask.

The kiss lingered though she'd broken it and waited for the blonde's eyes to open before she spoke.

“Are we done being mysterious,” she asked with a playful grin.

The younger woman smiled.

“That feeling I mentioned...? It's telling me to trust you.”

Bad move, Regina thought.

“So I trust you.”

Regina smiled at her once again before she spoke.

“Together?”

The younger woman brought her hands to the purple mask and waited.

“Together,” the blonde responded.

“One,” Regina slowly started. “Two...three.”

They lifted the masks and came together in a kiss before they could see the others' true identity. They slowly brought the masks down to their sides and wrapped themselves around each other, Regina's hand on the blonde's waist while the younger woman lightly rested her thumb against Regina's jaw.

They pulled away and kept their eyes closed for a few more seconds before they faced reality once again.

Regina opened her eyes first and stared at the blonde's eyelids less than a second before she opened them. She found herself staring into green eyes and instantly fell into a trance. Though it had been years, the girl's look still had the same affect on her.

“Emma,” she whispered.

Emma looked over the woman's features carefully. She stared into those deep brown eyes and squinted as she thought about the dark palace. It was the same creepy, sinister place she had been only days ago when the man had warned her. Her memories hadn't failed her. She had in deed been there and the man that warned her to stay away wasn't just talking about his daughter.

When Regina grinned after she snapped out of her haze, Emma knew the man had tried to warn her about the Evil Queen.

“It's you,” Emma said as her eyes went wide.

“Yes,” Regina hissed.

Emma tried to make a break for the door, but Regina's hand coiled around her neck and held her in place. Her eyes as wide as saucers, she stared at Regina in fear.

Regina chuckled then leaned in and kissed her. She was careful not to choke Emma with the hand she had around her neck. That wasn't her intention. She just wanted to keep the girl in reach.

She gripped at the part of Emma's dress that clung her right hip and lustfully pulled the blonde into her. When she broke the kiss, she moved her hand from Emma's neck to her shoulder and pushed the girl onto the bed.

“I'm going to have fun with you,” she cockily purred as she stared down at the tense blonde.

She bent down and ran her hands across the bed until her lips hovered over Emma's and rested her hands on the bed above Emma's shoulders. She pressed their centers flush against each other.

Emma bit her bottom lip at the feeling. She hated herself for it, but it wasn't long ago the woman was just a brunette standing alone at her birthday party, unhappy and without a dance partner.

Regina laughed as she recognized the girl's conflicting thoughts as they appeared clear as day across her face.

“Don't worry, dear. This won't hurt you as much as it will your mother.”

“You really are going to use me to get to her, aren't you.”

“What else would I do with you?”

“I defended you.”

“Not the best thing to do.”

“But...you...I...”

Regina shook her head.

“Well? Spit it out!”

Emma sighed in frustration and defeat.

“It must be my lucky day. First you make that opening in the barrier and then you drag me away from the party. And it's only going to get better for me.”

Emma gulped and shook her head.

“What? You don't think so,” the Evil Queen asked her.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Because Snow White deserves to pay for what she did.”

“What did she even do to you?!”

“Has she told you anything about me?”

“Several times. Nothing good. I just didn't believe her.”

“Your mistake.”

Regina pushed off the bed and stood. She grabbed Emma's hand and yanked the blonde to her feet. She snapped her fingers and a cage appeared near the foot of the bed. She waved her hand in front of Emma and flung it toward the cage.

The cage door swung open as Regina magically threw Emma inside.

Her back hit the far wall of the cage and she collapsed with a grunt as she slid down the bars. She stared at Regina as the brunette shut and locked the door with the flick of her wrist. She tried to see the softer side of the Evil Queen, but the warm look had left her brown eyes as they were then filled with hate and thrilling satisfaction.

Regina spoke with a sultry tone, her eyes dark as she sinfully grinned.

“You might want to get comfortable, dear.”


	3. Chapter 3

Emma growled and grunted as she banged on the bars of her cell. She rammed herself against the cage like she ran herself into the barrier. After she slammed her cut bicep into the bars, she hissed and took a couple steps back. Another step after that and her back hit more bars.

She sighed and closed her eyes as she leaned her head against the bars behind her. She evened out her breathing as she tried to think of other ways out. She opened her eyes and looked up at the top of the cage.

She bit her bottom lip and took a few steps forward. She reached out and grabbed the bars. She pulled herself up the front wall and attempted to climb it like a tree.

Regina reentered the room and chuckled when she saw Emma.

“I'm afraid that won't work, dear,” she grinned. “You can only get out when I let you out.”

Emma clenched her jaw and jumped down.

“What do you want?”

“I want your mother to pay for what she did. I thought I made that clear.”

“You might have mentioned that, but what do I have to do with getting even with her?”

Regina wickedly grinned as she stepped toward the cage.

“She loves you more than anything in the world, dear. I loved someone that much. He was taken from me and it's all her fault. So now I'm going to take you from her.”

“By killing me?”

“Of course not. Not yet anyway. False hope works wonders. I've already instructed my people to inform them of my capture. Soon they will either fight me or try to make a deal with me to get you back.”

“But you won't give me back.”

“Exactly,” Regina purred as she brought her face less than an inch away from the bars. “Keep impressing me like that and I might actually like you. You're not as naïve as your mother.”

“Kind of hard to be when your whole life is spent hearing stories of an Evil Queen who only wants to hurt you.”

“Oh, dear, I could make it hurt in all the right ways. You would not consider yourself a victim if we had continued our actions in my bed.”

“You are truly sickening. What happened to the woman in the forest?”

Regina haughtily chuckled.

“She never existed. It was all an illusion.”

Emma shook her head.

“It felt plenty real to me...Regina.”

Regina parted her lips and looked from Emma's green eyes to her pink lips.

“Come here,” she demanded in a sultry tone as she looked into Emma's eyes again.

“Not until you let me out,” Emma firmly said.

“I didn't have to get your permission. I was being kind. Your loss,” she confessed as she waved her hand toward herself.

She magically moved Emma closer to the bars.

Emma gripped the bars to keep her from moving forward, but Regina placed her hands over Emma's and held her at the bars with her magic.

Their hands shimmered under purple sparks as Regina leaned in and kissed Emma. Her tongue slithered across Emma's lips to beg for entrance.

Emma didn't budge.

Regina trapped Emma's upper lip between her teeth and nipped at it as she slid her tongue over it afterward. She pulled away and let go of Emma's hands.

The blonde stepped back, away from the bars, and didn't look pleased.

“You will give in to me,” Regina smirked with a devilish gleam in her eyes.

“What happened to taking it slow,” Emma asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Regina knew the truth. The price of innocence was too great and as dark as she was, she couldn't go there. She wouldn't. It was the last ounce of good she felt she had in her, but Emma was her prisoner. Emma needed to worry, fear for something even.

“That was before I knew who you were, Princess. Now...you're mine,” she gave a predatory growl.

Suddenly, the two were interrupted by the Huntsman.

“My Queen,” he said as he stopped in the doorway.

Regina slowly turned and sighed to let go of her growing frustration.

“What have I told you about my room,” she rhetorically asked him before she continued. “You are not to interrupt me while I am in here unless I extend to you an invitation.”

“I'm sorry, my Queen. I thought you should know as soon as possible that Snow and Charming have been told of their daughter's whereabouts.”

“That was awfully fast, Huntsman. Tell me, how did they get the news?”

“One of the dwarfs were out looking for the Princess. He found the whole in the barrier and started searching the forest. I ran into him there and told him of your doing. The Blue Fairy overheard.”

“And she told them?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“How did they take it?”

“Before I had a chance to follow the dwarf to the palace, the people of the Kingdom were summoned by Snow White and Prince Charming. They are prepared to start a war.”

Regina grinned.

“Then a war they shall have. What do you think, Emma,” she asked as she turned back to the blonde. “Care to see some bloodshed?”

“Only yours.”

“Then I'm going to have to disappoint you again, dear.”

Regina turned to the Huntsman once more.

“Tell the others to assemble. I want a full staff guarding this palace and the next five miles surrounding it. I want to protect my new possession.”

“Protect me,” Emma asked.

“Yes,” Regina turned to Emma. “I wouldn't want to lose my leverage, would I? You're about to be the most important thing in my life.”

“You value me.”

“That I do. Huntsman, leave us,” she shooed him, her back still to the man.

The Huntsman did as he was told and left.

“That's strange,” Emma told her.

“Why is that strange?”

“Because I'm the daughter of the person you hate the most and you value me. Shouldn't you hate me too?”

“What did you ever do to me that I should hate you?”

“There! What you said. I've done nothing to you. You shouldn't lock me up. You should let me go.”

“If I did that, you would return to the Kingdom and surely, I would be executed. Your mother chose not to have me killed last time, but now I have kidnapped her daughter. That should undoubtedly change her mind.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“This fighting is why I was forced to a life of solitude! Do you know what it's like to live inside the walls I did?”

“I do, dear. I once lived there myself. Or did your mother not mention the tragedy that was my marriage to her wretched father.”

“She did not.”

“Then allow me to fill in what she left out. I was going to run away with the stable boy. I loved him, but my mother didn't want that life for me. It was my life to live, but she wouldn't allow it. Your mother found out about him and me and I warned her what would happen if my mother ever found out. I told her to keep it a secret, but she couldn't keep her mouth shut.

“My mother...got rid of Daniel and I was forced to marry the King. If it weren't for Snow White, I would have run away with Daniel and I would have been happy. Instead, she made me her stepmother and had everything to gain from the marriage. Until she was sixteen, she was more than happy with the arrangement.

“She was unbearable. Those eight years, she wanted me to brush her hair, calm her when she had nightmares, do all sorts of things a mother would do.”

“But you were her stepmother. She was only a girl. She expected you to take care of her. I assume her father couldn't help much being a man. He wouldn't know much about raising a girl,” Emma said.

“Of course you would defend her. She ruined my life, my one chance for happiness.”

“She was only a girl when she told your mother about Daniel.”

“I warned her! I told her my mother was manipulative. I told her my mother would say anything to get what she wanted, but she didn't listen. If you interrupt me again, I will use my magic on you.”

“Not much of a threat. You already have. I broke out from the last prison I was in, my own home, for you to lock me away in another one. Then you kept me still to steal a kiss from me only moments ago.”

“You don't want to understand why I'm doing this? Why you're trapped yet again?”

Emma sighed.

“In order to understand that, you have to understand me,” Regina continued.

“Fine,” Emma tiredly agreed. “You said you knew what it was like to live inside the walls I did. Explain to me what happened.”

Regina took a deep breath before she started again.

“I was stuck for years being compared to the King's late wife, taking care of a child I didn't want any accountability for. The King missed his wife. He never really saw me when he looked at me. He saw me as someone to help him manage the girl.

“I couldn't leave the palace. Every night, I stood in front of my apple tree and stared out at the forest. I dreamed of running away like I had planned to with Daniel. I was always running. Then suddenly, I couldn't run anymore. I had no choice.”

Emma started to feel sympathetic as she rested against the back of the cage.

“The things the King expected of me,” Regina looked off into the distance as she sadly remembered the evenings spent with the older man. “I had to do many things with him to keep him happy. I didn't want to, but it was my duty as his wife. He was much older than me and I didn't love him. It made everything I did with him feel that much more wrong. I hardly slept through the night the first three years.

“After a while, I got used to the knots twisted up in my stomach from the constant sickness brought on by the nights with him. I barely tried to hide my unhappiness by then. I was too tired to pretend. It was then that I started to plan my escape. You may not agree with what I did, but it was the only way.”

Emma gulped, though she didn't fear what Regina had to say. She knew the story wouldn't have a happy ending. How could the Evil Queen be happy with a title like that let alone while using her to get revenge on Snow White.

“Just before Snow turned twelve, I had her father killed. A genie fell in love with me and I used him to get to the King.”

Emma's jaw dropped.

Regina noticed.

“I thought she would have told you that,” Regina said.

“She told me you had a hand in his death, but she told me nothing of the genie.”

“She probably didn't know that detail. I had kept our relationship a secret until the King read my diary and found my heart had been stolen by another man. He sought the help of his friend, the genie, to find the man responsible all the while I was convincing the genie I could never leave the palace since the King found my diary. That I couldn't run away with him because of it.

“The genie offered to help me get rid of the King and I figured out a way to frame him for the murder.”

“He was bit by a snake,” Emma said as she remembered the story her mother had told her. “One bite kills its victims instantly. Poison.”

Regina nodded.

“The snake came from the genie's native land and the genie was the one to unleash the snake on the King.”

Emma shook her head.

“The things I've done,” Regina started. “Not only what I've just told you, but what I have done after that. You should fear me, dear. There is nothing I have not and will not do to be happy.”

“Would you kill me,” Emma asked after she took a moment to look over the Evil Queen.

“If there was a chance I could be happy. Yes,” she softly admitted after a moment of pause.

Emma took a deep breath and looked down at the floor.

“And I will not hesitate to kill your mother for the same reason,” Regina added as she walked toward her closet.

She worked her way out of her dress behind the cover of the wall while Emma slunk to the floor and sat.

“Please don't kill her,” Emma softly requested.

“Why not,” Regina started as she removed the clip from her hair and grabbed a pair of sleepwear. “If I can be happy with her out of the way, what would stop me from killing her?”

“Me.”

“How would you stop me?”

“Whatever it takes. She's my mother. I won't let you take her from me.”

Regina sighed as she stepped out of the closet, only half dressed in undergarments.

“You would make a deal with the devil to save her?”

“You being the devil? Yes.”

“What shall you give me for her life.”

“Myself. That seems to be what you want. You wish to bed me, do you not?”

“Maybe I do,” Regina replied as she slipped into a sleep shirt.

“Then take me. I will give myself to you in exchange for my mother's life as well as for the rest of the Kingdom's safety.”

“Just the once for all those people, dear. I might want to bed you, but I hardly think you're worth that much.”

“No. Not just the once. I'm already your slave. Why not make me your pet?”

Regina flashed a smirk that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

“No.”

“No?”

“No,” Regina repeated with more sass as she walked over to her bed.

“Why the hell not?”

“Because I said 'no',” Regina said as she slid under the sheets.

“That's not an answer.”

“You must not be as well educated as I thought you were. No is an answer.”

“It doesn't explain why.”

“At least you know the difference,” Regina quipped with a small smirk.

“So why will you not except my offer,” Emma asked as she ignored Regina's insult.

“I don't think you need to know.”

“That's not fair! I made you an offer.”

“Which I denied. Goodnight, Emma.”

Regina magically blew out the candle by the door.

Emma balled up her fists and shot to her feet. She stepped up to the front wall of the cage.

“When they come to fight you're going to kill her, aren't you,” Emma angrily asked.

“I do believe that would make me happy.”

“I won't let you get away with this.”

“There's nothing you can do from that cage, my dear.”

Emma started to feel her blood boiling as rage began to surface inside her.

She yelled and took a step back before charging the bars. She flung her hands out in front of her like Regina often did when she used her magic and a gold light filled the room.

Regina stared in awe as she witnessed Emma burst through the bars and head straight for her in the bed. She raised a hand and flew Emma across the room.

Emma rolled over a few times on impact with the ground as Regina stood.

Regina took a step toward Emma and threw a hand up behind to her to relight the candle she had extinguished.

The flame flickered as Emma got to her feet. She turned to Regina as gold sparks danced in her once green eyes. She looked down at her hands with a shocked expression.

Regina looked at the blonde with wonder, her lips parted as she felt the power emanating from the younger woman.

Emma collected herself when she looked at Regina and flung out her arms. She magically pushed Regina against the wall. She held the brunette there as she crossed the room.

Regina's eyes flashed purple as she fought the electric gold bindings Emma had secured around her wrists, waist, and ankles.

Purple smoke started to fill the room from the floor and rose to the ceiling as she struggled.

Emma didn't know what had come over her, but she felt the power within her, the strength to fight for her family.

“Then let me make myself clear,” Emma growled. “I will stop at nothing to protect the people I love.”

Regina threw herself forward with a grunt and broke free from Emma's magic restraints. She lunged at the blonde and tackled her to the ground.

“You can use magic,” Regina panted as she straddled the blonde.

Emma bucked her hips and wriggled left and right beneath Regina.

“Whatever it is, I'm not gonna stop until I protect them from you,” she said through gritted teeth as she continued to struggle.

The gold in her eyes glowed and an unseen force between them tried to push Regina off her.

Regina held strong and fought it with a grunt and pushed back with her own magic. She grounded Emma into the floor and subconsciously moved against Emma's hips to keep the blonde beneath her.

Emma clawed at Regina's shirt and pulled her close. She bucked her hips again and rolled Regina onto her back.

Regina grabbed the sleeve of Emma's dress and pulled as she landed on her back. The material ripped and loosened but didn't break. She let go and the sleeve fell loosely against her cut bicep.

Emma raised her fist and brought it down in an attempt to punch Regina, but the Evil Queen stopped her hand mid-swing and latched on to the neckline of Emma's dress.

She yanked it down and revealed Emma's breasts as she slid a knee between Emma's thighs.

She continued to grasp Emma's dress as she kneed Emma's center and pushed the younger woman up above her.

Regina's face ended up between Emma's legs and gripped the Princess' hips. She rolled Emma onto her back again as the sparks in Emma's eyes started to fade.

Regina unintentionally spread Emma's legs as she pushed down and outward on the woman's inner thighs.

Emma sat up on her elbows and Regina moved her hands from her inner thighs to her outer.

Regina yanked Emma toward her and caused the blonde to fall onto her back, her sex pressed up against Regina's thighs as her dress bunched up at her hips.

Emma hissed at the scrapes on her forearms caused from the rough movement as Regina leaned over her.

“You're strong, but I'm stronger, dear,” Regina slowly said as her flickered purple.

Emma reached out and grabbed Regina's hair. Before she could yank her aside by it, Regina expelled more of her magic and froze the blonde's hand in her hair, paralyzed only in the one arm.

Regina swooped in and bit above Emma's chest, just below her collarbone.

Emma yelped as Regina sunk her teeth in and squirmed beneath the brunette. She brought her free hand to Regina's neck and pressed her thumb into the Evil Queen's windpipe.

Regina quickly released Emma magically as well as with her teeth and coughed as she pulled away from the Princess' body.

Emma let her hand slip as the gold sparks returned to her eyes. She held out her hand and instantly sent Regina flying across the room.

Regina crashed into the wall by the cage she'd made for Emma and took a few deep breaths to recover from her near strangling.

Regina's eyes flashed purple again before they glowed, her attention drawn to Emma's exposed chest. She bit her bottom lip then looked into Emma's gold eyes.

“Let me go,” Regina calmly said.

“Not without a guarantee that the Kingdom is safe.”

Regina grinned then chuckled.

“I don't guarantee anything but pain and suffering.”

Emma walked up to her and magically held her still as she punched Regina in the stomach.

Regina groaned and doubled over as far as she could under Emma's hold. She slowly straightened herself up and stared Emma down.

The amount of purple smoke in the room increased as her magic built up inside her. She focused solely on Emma's eyes as she tried hard to see the green beneath gold sparks.

She began to pant as her body temperature rose. Her eyes pulsed purple a few times then sparked again as she kept her gaze directed at Emma.

Emma felt the magnetic pull from before and suddenly felt weak. The gold sparks in her eyes flashed like a strobe light from gold to green until green replaced gold. She fell to her knees and looked down at the ground. She released Regina and tried to control her breathing as she bent over onto all fours in defeat.

“I told you, dear,” Regina said as she tried to catch her breath. “I'm stronger.”

Emma started to shake.

Regina crouched down and hooked a finger under Emma's chin. She forced the blonde to look at her.

“Obey me and I won't kill her,” Regina said.

“But that's not a guarantee, is it.”

“It's a promise,” the brunette answered as she reached down and pulled up Emma's dress to cover her breasts.

Regina stood and walked over to her closet.

Emma took a few moments to control her breathing.

“Obey you how,” she asked Regina.

“Don't fight me and don't push me. Testing my patience will get you nowhere,” Regina replied as she stopped in front of Emma with a pair of sleepwear.

She offered the clothes to Emma.

“Make yourself comfortable. This war will be long, but you have my word that as long as you do what I say, no real harm will come to your family.”

“So...am I your pet now?”

“No. I wouldn't call it that anyway.”

“Then what am I?”

“Important and let's leave it at that.”

Regina waved her hand at the cage and reconstructed it. Purple lightning bolts shot up the length of the cage until they all met in the center of the outer top of the cage. They disappeared and the cage looked as it had before Emma barreled through it.

“Back in the cage,” Regina ordered as she pointed at the open and waiting cage.

Emma glared up at Regina.

“Tell me again how I'm not your pet,” Emma mumbled as she stood, borrowed clothes still in hand.

“Important,” Regina corrected.

Emma stepped inside the cage and turned to watch Regina manually close it.

Still close enough to the bars, Regina reached out and took Emma's hand in hers. She touched the lock on the cage with her free hand and relaxed.

She felt the magic course through Emma and herself, what was left in them at that point, and used it to seal the lock.

Emma quickly felt drained as her eyes sleepily started to close.

Regina let go of Emma's hand and fell forward against the cage. She grabbed one of the bars to steady herself as Emma collapsed onto the floor.

Emma laid on her side facing outward toward Regina and fought to keep her eyes open.

“Don't fight it,” Regina said as she gently pushed off the cage. “Go to sleep. The more rest you get, the quicker your strength will return.”

Regina turned and went to the candle. She blew it out then returned to her bed. She slid under the covers and closed her eyes.

“I can't,” Emma softy said.

“What,” Regina asked, confused though she made no effort to move.

“I can't sleep.”

“Yes, you can. Just close your eyes and you'll feel it.”

Emma rolled onto her back and shook her head.

“I can't.”

Regina opened her eyes and pulled herself into a sitting position.

“Why not?”

“I'm cold and shaking. Everything hurts and my head is spinning. What's happening to me?”

Regina sighed and got out of bed. She went over to the cage and used her faint amount of magic to unlock it.

She stepped inside then locked the cage again. She waved her hand over Emma's body and magically changed the blonde into the sleepwear she'd given her. The dress reappeared, folded on the edge of her bed on the other side of the bars.

Regina eased herself onto the floor of the cage and laid next to Emma.

“What are you doing,” Emma asked.

“Against better judgment,” Regina started as she took Emma's hand in hers. “Helping you.”

She closed her eyes and summoned the rest of the magic she had left to the surface. She channeled it into the hand laced with Emma's and gave it to the Princess.

Emma softly gasped and closed her eyes as she felt the transfer.

Regina parted her lips as she calmed Emma with her magic. She gave all she could until purple sparks shocked their intertwined hands.

Regina grimaced and let go of Emma's hand.

“Better,” Regina asked as she turned to Emma.

“What did you do to me,” Emma calmly asked.

“Gave you the rest of my strength.”

“So...what I did...was magic?”

“Yes.”

“Why was I so weak?”

“You drained yourself.”

“How?”

“You used too much magic for your first time. That was your first time using magic, am I right?”

“You are.”

“Use your magic carefully. The more you use without practice, the quicker you wear out like tonight.”

“Are you gonna teach me?”

“Teach you magic?”

“Mhmm.”

“I shouldn't have helped you by giving you my strength in the first place.”

“Then why did you?”

Regina rested a hand on her own stomach and struggled to stay awake to answer Emma's questions.

“To help you sleep.”

“Why do you want me to sleep? You said that's how I recover, right? How I get strong again?”

“You have magic for a reason. You're going to need it later and, though I have no idea why you would need it, I'm not going to leave you defenseless unless it's against me.”

“Then teach me. Help me use magic.”

Regina started to drift off.

“Regina?”

Emma looked to Regina.

“Regina, please teach me.”

Regina forced her eyes open and locked them with Emma's. She stared into those familiar green eyes, the eyes that put her in a trance the night Emma was born.

“Okay,” Regina agreed before she slowly closed her eyes.

“Thank you,” Emma quietly said.

“Don't make me regret my decision,” Regina mumbled as sleep started to take her over.

Emma smiled at Regina as she watched the brunette drift off to sleep before she looked up at the ceiling, closed her eyes, and did the same.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Emma woke up with a small headache and tense muscles. She softly grunted as she sat up on her elbows then looked down at the sleeping body beside her.

She furrowed her brow as she stared quizzically at Regina. She knew she didn't want to believe Regina was the Evil Queen, but she was. What confused her was the older woman's behavior. If she was so evil, why did Regina help her the previous night? Why would she promise not to kill her mother after the brunette already admitted her willingness to kill her if it meant she could be happy?

Emma sighed and started to look at Regina differently. The stories she'd heard from her mother compared to what Regina had told her, she felt for the woman next to her. She started to sympathize.

As the brunette slept, her chest rose and fell at a steady pace. She seemed peaceful as she rested, but there was still a darkness to her that Emma couldn't deny.

Emma sat up completely and looked from Regina to the cage door. She slowly stood and looked back at Regina to make sure she hadn't started to wake.

Regina's eyes were still closed and her breathing wasn't shallow. It was deep and slow.

Emma bit her bottom lip and turned to the lock. She opened up her stance to ensure herself some balance and awkwardly held out her hands. She tried to remember how Regina had locked and unlocked the cage with her magic and hoped she could use her own to free herself.

She reached through the bars and touched the lock. She took a deep breath and slowly released it as she tried to will her magic to work. Unfortunately, she felt nothing. She didn't know how magic worked. The only times she used magic happened without her realizing it.

She dropped her hands and sighed in defeat. She ran a hand through her hair and looked around the room on the other side of the cage walls. She grabbed the bars and tightened her grip as she tried to accept herself as a prisoner. The trouble with that was how hard she tried to free herself from the palace to live freely only to end up stuck in a smaller space as yet another captive, though of a different kind.

The grass is always greener, she thought.

“I told you the only way out is me,” Regina spoke up and startled Emma.

Emma jumped and turned to Regina.

“Then can you let me out?”

“That depends on you, dear. Will you run way if I let you go?”

“We made a deal, right? You teach me magic and I stay put.”

“Can I trust you to honor that agreement?”

“When we left the party, I told you where we were going would make you happy and it was a promise. Were you happy?”

Regina looked over the younger woman for a moment before she stepped closer to Emma, the space thinning between them. She stopped when their lips were inches away. She stared into green eyes for what seemed like a lifetime then reached around the blonde.

Emma gasped as she backed herself against the cage wall and locked eyes with the Queen.

Regina touched the lock, one hand on a bar at Emma's side to brace herself while the two of them breathed the same air. She didn't break eye contact as her eyes flashed purple for a fleeting moment. She magically unlocked the cage then removed her hand from the bar and pulled Emma flush against her, her hand on the blonde's lower back.

Regina pushed open the door and slowly released her hold on the Princess.

“Thank you,” Emma said after a few seconds.

She took a few steps back toward the bed, her eyes never leaving Regina's.

“Your parents should have the Kingdom rallied and on their way by the evening. I assume they will have guards and a militia prepared to get you back.”

“Probably,” Emma muttered as she looked down at the floor.

Regina furrowed her brow in confusion as she looked over the younger woman.

“Why does that seem to bother you?”

Emma met Regina's eyes again, her lips parted, jaw slightly slack.

“What?”

“Your parents. You seem upset that they would have everyone fight for you. Most people aren't so lucky to have people care for them like that.”

“I love them and I love that everyone might be willing to save me, but I don't like it when they treat me like a child. They think I can't handle myself or figure my way out of situations.”

“You haven't gotten out of this one.”

“But am I truly in danger right now?”

“Snow has seen the darkest side of me, dear. Forgive her if she's more cautious and 'overbearing' with the fact that you're here with me.”

Emma sighed.

“If the war is starting then you should teach me magic while you still can. I can imagine soon you'll be focused on saving your own skin.”

“Nonsense, dear. I'm great at multitasking. You'll learn magic soon enough, but if you're itching for your first lesson I guess we could start now.”

“Really?”

Regina nodded.

“Tell me how you felt last night.”

“What do you mean? When I used magic?”

“Yes. What were you feeling when you fought me?”

“Anger.”

“What else.”

“I don't know.”

Regina shook her head.

“Dig deeper. I can't help you if you won't even try.”

“How am I supposed to know what I was feeling besides anger? You were threatening my family! I had to do something.”

Regina raised her eyebrows.

“There. That's what triggered it.”

“What?”

“I threatened your family and you fought back. You were protecting them.”

Emma furrowed her brow and looked down as she slowly sat on the edge of the bed, near her dress.

“What about the barrier,” Regina asked as she moved the dress out of the way and sat in its place.

“What about it?”

“You couldn't have gotten past it without using magic. How did you feel when you broke through it?”

“Trapped. Angry. Determined.”

“What did you want?”

“To be free.”

“Anything else?”

“No,” Emma thought about it. “Well...there was that feeling.”

“Go on.”

“That pull. I felt drawn to something out here, away from my family's palace. I felt it and suddenly, I'd gotten through.”

Regina looked puzzled. She didn't know how to interpret that.

“Whenever you figure out that pull, that's another trigger. Keep that in mind, okay?”

Emma nodded.

“So,” Regina started. “Already what have you learned about magic?”

“In the two minutes we've spent talking about magic?”

“Yes. There's a lesson to be learned from our conversation.”

“I don't know.”

“Yes, you do. Think! What have I asked you?”

“You've asked what I felt.”

“And what has that taught you?”

“Give the Queen a better answer other than angry? She wants to dig deeper.”

Regina rolled her eyes.

“I don't have to teach you magic, you know. I can put you back in that cage as fast as I freed you too,” Regina flatly informed the blonde.

“I haven't learned anything about magic!”

“Apparently you need a learning curve. Magic is about feeling. You feel magic, you don't think it. Well, unless you're conjuring something. Then you have to think about what you want, but you won't get it unless you know why you want it. You have to feel it.”

“Is that the end of the lesson?”

“You have to understand the rules of magic and how it works before you can put it to use, Emma. Don't test my patience.”

“Sorry. I'm just not much of a listener. I don't sit back and wait. I do things. I take action.”

“Yes, well, that will have to change if you want me to teach you anything. Don't make the same mistake I did.”

“Which is?”

“I listened to a monster and the monster became me.”

“You really think you're a monster?”

“What else could I be, dear? The lives I've destroyed, the way my father looked at me, the similarities between my mother and I? Yes, I'm a monster. Not the worst in the land, but a cruel and vicious one nonetheless.”

Emma shook her head and paused for a moment.

“Will you show me how to move things,” she asked as she changed the subject.

Regina stared at Emma for a long moment before she took the blonde's hands in her own. She stood and brought Emma's hands with her.

Emma followed the Queen's lead and rose to her feet.

Regina moved Emma in front of her, never letting go of her hands except when she turned Emma's back to her.

“I want you to focus on that mirror,” Regina said from behind the Princess. “I want you to remember the way you felt last night. Imagine the mirror is me. I'm fighting your father and used magic to snap his neck.”

Emma closed her eyes as her blood started to boil.

“What do you feel?”

Emma shook her head as she tried to concentrate.

“Come on, Emma. I killed your father right in front of you. What are you going to do,” Regina raised her voice as she asked.

She shook Emma's wrists for emphasis.

“No. You're not going to hurt them,” Emma said as she kept her eyes closed.

Regina let go of Emma's hands and walked around her until she stood square in front of the blonde.

“Open your eyes,” she commanded.

“You said you wouldn't hurt them,” Emma said as she refused to obey Regina's order.

“Open your eyes, Emma! Do it!”

Emma took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She stared straight into brown orbs as Regina stood, ready for a fight.

“It's your life or mine,” Regina started. “Who gets to live?”

“It's not my place to choose who lives or dies,” Emma told her.

Regina sighed and gritted her teeth. She stepped closer to Emma and pushed the blonde to the ground without using magic.

“What are you feeling, Emma?”

“Stop!”

Regina pounced. She pinned Emma to the ground and brought her hand to the blonde's neck.

“Protect yourself.”

“Get off!”

Regina shook her head.

“Make me.”

Emma wriggled beneath her.

“With magic,” Regina barked. “Push me away! It's you or me, Emma. Who's it going to to be?”

Regina began to strangle the blonde.

“I know you have it in you,” Regina softly said in a low tone.

Her dark eyes stared straight into Emma's as the Princess struggled under her.

“Regina...p-please...s-stop,” Emma begged.

“Hurt me,” Regina demanded. “If I kill you, there's nothing stopping me from killing your parents.”

“Y-ou...promised...”

“But you'll be dead. I don't owe you anything if you're dead,” Regina said as she leaned in.

“I...c-can't. Ple-”

Emma could barely say another word.

Regina looked into desperate, pleading eyes for a moment before she sighed. She released Emma and allowed the girl to breath.

Emma coughed under her and tried to sit up.

“Lay down,” Regina told her as she eased the blonde onto her back. “You're going to need a minute.”

“I don't want to learn like this,” Emma said before she violently coughed again.

“I can't teach you any other way. You bury your emotions deep inside, but you need to be bothered. You need to be vulnerable.”

“I won't.”

“Then you'll never be able to use magic on command. No one will take advantage of your vulnerability if you're able to use magic. So let yourself feel something.”

Emma blew out a sigh.

“I feel frustrated.”

“Good. That's a start. But your power seems to be routed in protecting people. Frustration won't help you access your magic if that's as far as you allow yourself to feel.”

“How am I supposed to feel anything more than frustrated when I'm frustrated?!”

“Ask yourself why you feel that way.”

Emma bitterly stared up at the brunette, lips pursed as she lay flat on the ground beneath the Queen.

“Ready to try again,” Regina asked.

Emma continued to stare at the woman, even as Regina stood and offered the blonde a hand. She thought it over for a few seconds before she accepted Regina's hand and allowed the brunette to help her to her feet.

She brushed off her borrowed sleepwear and took a deep breath.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Focus on the mirror again.”

Emma relaxed and looked at the mirror.

“Now what?”

“Hold my hand.”

“What?”

“Just do it.”

Emma rolled her eyes and laced her fingers with Regina's, her right hand in Regina's left.

“I want you to feel this.”

“Feel what,” Emma asked before warmth rushed through her arm, originating from their intertwined hands.

Emma parted her lips and slowly closed her eyes.

“Concentrate,” Regina said. “What do you feel?”

Emma gulped as she squeezed Regina's hand. In doing so, a bolt of magic shot through her arm that she knew came from Regina. Though she couldn't tell if it was done willingly.

“Pain,” Emma answered. “I feel sadness and pain. A tragic suffering.”

“And now,” Regina asked as she looked down at the floor beneath her with a frown.

“Hurt. Anger. ...Hate.”

Emma tensed as the feelings ran from Regina's hand to hers. She felt it creep into her heart and suddenly, she sympathized again. Not because of something Regina had said, but because of the feelings Regina shared with her.

“There's a rage. Inside, you...” Emma trailed off and shook her head.

She opened her eyes and looked at the mirror.

“You don't just hate my mother, do you,” Emma asked, though it was more of a statement, as tears formed in her eyes.

“This is how I feel. This is how I use magic,” Regina said as she tried not to cry herself.

She looked at Emma who paid full attention to the mirror. She threw out her right arm and the mirror smashed.

Emma clutched at her heart as she felt a surge of sadness and anger take over her entire being.

Regina broke their hold and regained her composure.

“I don't want to feel like that. I don't want to use my magic like that. It felt dark,” Emma breathed out.

“That's because it's dark magic. Find your strength and use that. I already told you...your power comes from protecting people.”

“And if I use it to protect people it's not dark magic?”

“No. It's light. The intention of magic is what makes it light or dark.”

“You're not going to teach me dark magic, are you?”

“No, dear. Though that's entirely up to you. I said I'd teach you magic and if that's what you want to learn-”

“No! Light magic. I want to learn that.”

“As you wish, but do bear in mind that I myself use dark magic. It will be hard for me to teach you light, but I will do my best to help.”

“Thank you. That is all I ask.”

Emma frowned.

“Dear?”

Regina looked over Emma's features in an attempt to determine the problem.

Emma locked eyes with her.

“What's wrong,” Regina asked.

“Nothing. It's just... If you're so evil, why are you holding up your end of the deal? You could refuse to teach me magic. You could use your own against me any time you like, any way you like. And yet, you genuinely seem to want to help me.”

“I have my reasons.”

“Would you care to share them...Your Majesty,” Emma asked as she closed some of the space between them.

Desire flickered in Regina's eyes at how Emma addressed her. She quickly masked it with a look of almost boredom before she responded.

“No, I don't care.”

Emma puffed out a soft, frustrated sigh.

“As you said, I am evil. Don't forget that. You'll never be disappointed if you remember that.”

Emma confidently smirked as she tried to find another way to see Regina's other side, the one that had told her the story about Daniel.

“Are you afraid to disappoint me?”

“Not in the slightest,” Regina grinned in reply.

She knew what Emma was trying to do. She wasn't human. She was a beast. She wouldn't offer up any further indication she was capable of real emotions. She no longer had them. Not since Daniel.

Emma frowned.

“You may have everyone else fooled,” the blonde started. “But I know there's more to your story than what people have said, what you'll have me believe. I doubt my mother knew you were unhappy.”

“How could she know? She was just a girl. I didn't want to hurt her then. I didn't tell her what happened to Daniel, what happened because of her. I spared her feelings. She was young. It wasn't until I got her to eat a poison apple that I told her.”

“My mother said you tried to keep her and my father apart.”

“Indeed I did,” Regina started with a wicked grin, but finished with a bitter tone. “But the two idiots kept 'finding' each other.”

“True love conquers all,” Emma said.

“It doesn't conquer everything, Princess. Maybe one day I'll feed you to my mother like a steak to a dog. Then we'll see if you still believe that.”

“The day she killed Daniel,” Emma started, which clearly upset Regina. “That's the day you stopped believing in true love...isn't it.”

“You do not have the right to say his name. If you say it again, I'll make you hurt in the worst ways. You'll wish I'd just kill you so you don't have to suffer anymore.”

Emma looked down at Regina's hands. They crackled with purple magic.

“I see,” Emma said before she looked into Regina's eyes again. “I shall never say his name in your presence again unless given permission.”

“You will never be given permission.”

“As you wish, my Queen.”

Regina's magic faded and the anger started to leave her body, or at least fall from the surface and bury itself deep within her.

Emma smiled.

Regina didn't know what Emma was so happy about, but she didn't bother to ask.

“Are you ready to continue,” Regina asked.

“Yes. Um, but...could I get dressed first?”

Regina rolled her eyes. She waved her hand over Emma's body, her hand close to her own chest, and magically changed both of them.

Regina dressed herself in black leather pants and matching lacy corset. Her breasts were accentuated with the low cut of the corset that curved to her shape while the not-too-thick straps clung to her silky smooth shoulders. It was complete with a black, leather choker and a silver necklace in the shape of three needles that drew attention to her breasts. She hadn't made the effort to cover up with even her usual open coat.

Emma, however, looked more angelic and innocent. Regina hadn't dressed her in what she wore the night of the ball, but instead in a flowing, cream colored gown that covered her modestly. She looked like rays of sunlight bathed her in a daylight glow no matter which way she turned or where she went. The neckline cut in a V-shape and exposed a tempting portion of skin between her supple breasts. It was the only part of Emma's body that was truly revealed aside from the curves of Emma's hips as the dress was tight from her shoulder sleeves to her waist then casually fanned out around her legs.

Emma looked down and took in her new attire. She touched the silky fabric and frowned as she looked at Regina.

“Really? Why not just put me in a bright white dress and scribe 'virgin' on my forehead with a quill.”

“That can be arranged,” Regina said to shut her up.

It worked.

“I don't think it screams virgin, if that's why you don't like the dress. Though, I doubt that matters since you are a virgin. Isn't that what you told me?”

“It is, but that doesn't mean I want everyone to know it.”

“I think you look lovely, dear.”

“I could wear a pirate hat and nothing else and you would probably think I look lovely.”

“Don't give me ideas, my sweet.”

“Did you really just call me that?”

Regina grinned.

“Thought I'd give it a try. Much like I want to do with that pirate hat.”

“Forget it. Never going to happen. And you'll never see me so exposed.”

“Oh, haven't I already, Princess?”

Emma furrowed her brow.

“Last night. I didn't pay much attention then, I was too busy fighting you, but I unintentionally pulled down your dress. I saw your breasts. Not in full detail, of course, but it was enough.”

Emma looked down at her chest then back at Regina when the brunette continued.

“And before that, though you were wrapped in your blanket, I saw you bare as a newborn. Then again, you were a newborn then.”

“Well, that one doesn't count. I was a baby. And you said it yourself, I was wrapped in a blanket.”

“But not last night.”

“You were busy fighting me.”

“I wonder if I should make a bet with you.”

“About what?”

“During this war, how soon I'll expose you.”

“It would be a foolish bet. I will never undress for you and using magic would be cheating.”

“Really,” Regina asked as she raised an eyebrow with intrigue. “And what kind of rules are those if you wish not to make a bet?”

“They aren't for the bet that I refuse to make with you. They are for you to follow while I'm to remain here.”

“You expect me to listen to you?”

“You've done what I have asked so far. If I have to beg for you to agree, I will.”

“You won't have to beg. You are much more attractive when you fight back.”

“You want to challenge me on this?”

Regina grinned.

“Magically. Yes.”

“You've taught me nothing about magic.”

“Not nothing! How ungrateful are you, you little brat. I've taught you to rely on your emotions to access your power and I've told you it comes from protecting people.”

Emma sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Fine. You've taught me about magic, but you have not taught me how to use it. It would be an unfair fight.”

“Would it? You can't know that until you try.”

“Fine. What shall we fight for?”

“If I win...” Regina trailed off to think what she should require of the younger woman. “You give me a large dose of your magic...like I gave you mine last night.”

“What could that possibly do for you?”

“A lot, dear. Magic is not something to regard lightly.”

“And if I win?”

“Name your price.”

“You let me roam the palace.”

“For a day?”

“Every day. I don't like to be confined as you choose to have me.”

“I've let you out of the cage. Is that not enough?”

“Of course it's not enough. I don't want to be trapped in your bedroom all day and all night.”

Regina cocked her head to the side as she thought it over.

“Fine, but I'll have guards posted outside the palace to ensure you don't escape. If you win, you'll be allowed to explore the palace, but you will not leave it under any circumstances if I am not with you.”

Emma smiled.

“You have a deal, but also know that if I win you will not use magic to undress me.”

“That is why we'll fight in the first place, is it not?”

“Right.”

“Now...show me what you can do,” Regina said before she grinned and sent Emma across the room with a flick of the wrist.


	5. Chapter 5

Emma hit the wall with a thud as the air immediately left her lungs. She took a quick second to recover before she frustratedly growled and clenched her fists.

“Why do you always do that,” Emma angrily asked as Regina held her in place.

“Do what, dear,” Regina asked as she proudly grinned.

“Surprise me with your magic,” Emma answered as she wriggled between Regina's magical hold and the wall.

Regina chuckled.

“If you want to learn magic, you have to learn that no one's going to wait for you to be ready,” Regina told her. “Best advice I can give you...”

Regina strutted toward Emma before she continued.

“Always expect people to hurt you, with or without magic.”

Emma sighed as she relaxed her muscles in defeat.

“Giving up so easily,” Regina asked as she stopped a few feet away from the princess.

Emma steadied her breathing and tried to focus.

“I thought you were a fighter,” Regina added.

Emma took a deep breath and tried to feel something other than the slight rage she felt boiling up inside her.

“Poor, sweet Emma. Most people aren't going to bait you in battle. They'll just raise their swords or use their magic and they won't stop until you're broken or dead. Would you like me to ease you into all this? To continue to bait you, make you angry so you'll use your magic?”

“So far you're doing a great job,” Emma said through gritted teeth as she dug deeper into her emotions.

“You'd better hurry, dear. I'm growing quite bored of this.”

“Are you giving me a time limit,” Emma asked she quickly looked up and glared at Regina.

Her eyes flashed a gold spark that disappeared in an instant. Regina had noticed and grinned after it faded.

“Yes. If you don't fight back in the next minute, we're done and you lose.”

Emma clenched her fists.

“Why are you making me angry? Isn't that part of dark magic?”

“How else would you like me to teach you? Anger is the easiest emotion to feel. I figured it would help you learn faster.”

“I told you I didn't want to feel how you do when you use magic.”

Regina sighed.

“It won't always be this way,” she sternly reassured her. “Once you learn magic, you'll learn how to control it. I'm using magic right now and I'm not angry.”

“No. You're enjoying this.”

“Not right now I'm not,” Regina wickedly smirked as she raised a suggestive eyebrow. “As I've said before, I like it better when you fight.”

Regina waved her hand across the room and magically threw Emma into the far wall behind herself.

Emma groaned when she hit the wall and immediately tensed.

Regina hadn't trapped her against it like she'd done before, though. Instead, the Queen only threw her against it and let the blonde drop to the ground seconds after impact.

Emma scrunched up her face in discomfort at the aching pain Regina had caused in her back, but quickly recovered. She met Regina's gaze and looked a little lost.

Regina noticed and made no move to attack again.

“How do I...you know, do that to you?”

“You've done it before, dear. Just focus on what you feel and what you want to do. The rest should come naturally.”

Emma sighed.

“It doesn't feel natural to me.”

Regina took a moment to look over Emma's defeated demeanor.

“Watch my hands,” Regina calmly commanded.

Emma furrowed her brow in confusion, but looked from brown eyes to graceful hands.

Regina waited until Emma's eyes focused on her hands before she slowly waved one in front of her chest. She lifted Emma off the ground and made her hover.

Emma nearly gasped as her feet dangled beneath her. She looked over her floating form in surprise for a few seconds before she locked eyes with Regina again.

“Um, this is great, but can you put me down now?”

Regina grinned.

“I've taught you the basic principles of magic, now show me what you know and what you feel.”

Emma stared innocently at Regina for a few moments. Her eyes never left the brunette's as she tried to feel something. She took her time and tried to remember how it felt when she'd created an opening in the barrier.

“Tick tock, my dear. I'm getting bored.”

Emma trained her focus on Regina as the brunette broke their eye contact. She frowned until she got that feeling. It was like a kick to the ribs as the magnetic pull returned. It was what she felt when she broke though the barrier and it was what she felt at the masquerade ball before she ran into Regina.

Gold sparks consumed her green eyes as she waited for Regina to look at her again.

Regina felt a shiver rush down her spine and met Emma's gaze. She smirked, satisfied as Emma's eyes glowed.

Emma threw out her arms and magically pushed Regina onto the ground. When the older woman's back hit the floor, she fell from mid-air and landed on her feet though not too gracefully. She pushed of the floor and stood up straight before she hurried to Regina. When she reached the Queen, she noticed the dark grin on the woman's face.

“Good girl,” Regina purred seconds before she waved her hand and created magical bindings around Emma's wrists.

“Let's see what you can do without your hands,” Regina said as she got to her feet.

“This is definitely not a fair fight,” Emma muttered.

Regina wickedly chuckled.

“Of course it's not, dear. If I'm to teach you, I think I should be getting something out of it.”

“My companionship. That was the agreement.”

“Yes, but companionship is boring and I don't like to be bored. I waited twenty-eight years for this. I want to have some fun.”

Regina stood toe to toe with Emma and kept their eyes locked.

“Can I use magic without my hands,” Emma sheepishly asked, afraid of sounding so novice and innocent.

A devious grin spread across Regina’s face as a devilish gleam flashed in brown eyes.

“Allow me to demonstrate,” Regina said in a sultry tone.

Emma gulped seconds before Regina’s eyes glowed purple. She felt the heated gaze burn right through her.

Regina sent what could only be described as a shock wave from her eyes to Emma's as she brought the blonde to her knees. Her gaze followed Emma to the floor before she reached out and stroked Emma's cheek with the back of her index and middle finger.

Emma reflected on her new position and realization quickly dawned on her.

“Kneeling before the Queen,” Emma started. “Cute.”

“Your turn, Princess” Regina continued to grin even as the purple faded from her eyes.

Regina dropped her hand to her side and waited for Emma to act.

Emma stared up at Regina for a few seconds before she tried to stand.

Regina's eyes glowed again as she forced Emma back onto her knees.

“I like where you are now, dear. You think I'd give that up so easily?”

Emma smirked as her eyes started to glow gold.

“Of course not.”

The purple in Regina's eyes darkened, though not by the brunette’s request. Her jaw dropped slightly as she felt herself being magically controlled.

“Cage,” Emma said seconds before she enveloped Regina in a puff of purple smoke. She sent Regina into the cage as she got onto her feet.

She smiled as she watched Regina reappear inside the four barred walls in another purple cloud. When she had Regina's attention, she made the transparent, though slightly purple, binding around her wrists glow gold like her eyes. Within seconds, the magical band burst like a popped balloon.

Regina stepped out of the open cage with a pleased expression.

“Nice work”

“Oh, I'm not done yet.”

“Good,” Regina purred, a sinful radiance in her eyes.

Regina threw out her hands at the same time Emma did and the two of them counter-acted each other.

They both flew back a few feet, but the force of their magic when it invisibly collided between them had weakened the others' attack.

Emma puffed out a sigh and gently shook her head as she tried to process what had happened.

Regina was the first to recover and victoriously grinned as she took a few steps toward the princess. She held her hand close to her hip, palm up, and created a fireball in it.

“Oh, sh-”

Regina flung the fireball at Emma before the blonde could finish her explicative.

Emma dove to her right and the fire ball torched the headboard of Regina's bed.

Emma stared up at Regina as she remained on the floor. She rested on her hands and her left thigh as she panted.

Regina smirked and made another fireball in the same hand. She allowed Emma's eyes to widen in fear before she hurled the ball at the blonde.

Emma flinched and raised an arm in front of her face to protect herself. She winced as she tried to brace herself for the assumed pain to come, but it never did.

Emma felt a strange sensation shoot out of her, but it wasn't until Regina spoke that she looked up to inspect the damage.

“Yes,” Regina hissed in a low, almost purring, tone. “You're getting it.”

Emma stared in shock and confusion as the embers of the fire trickled down to the floor on the other side of a small golden wall. She'd apparently made a tiny protective shield between her and the fireball.

Regina glided over to Emma and stopped right in front of her with a proud and wicked grin.

“That was me going easy on you. Are you ready to intensify things?”

Emma huffed out a few more shallow breaths before she replied.

“Diving out of the way of fireballs was easy?”

Regina chuckled.

“There are many other things I could do to you, but I need to know that you're ready,” Regina said before she extended a hand to the princess.

Emma's eyes wandered from Regina's eyes to the older woman's outstretched hand. After a moment, she met the brunette's gaze again and took her offered hand.

“I'm ready,” Emma said.

Regina gripped Emma's hand and a spark of magic tingled between them.

Emma parted her lips as her breath hitched.

Regina helped Emma to her feet by magically sweeping the younger woman off the ground.

Emma hovered a small distance above the floor before Regina gracefully set her down. Their hands never lost contact.

Regina gave Emma a moment to reel from the floating feeling, something she hadn't allowed the first time, before she pulled her hand away.

“Then let's get on with it,” Regina spoke in a sultry tone.

Emma licked her lips then took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. She held her hands in front of her hips, palms facing Regina, and felt the magic build up inside her. She visualized what she wanted to then flicked her wrists.

Regina flew across the room, but used her own magic to stop herself from hitting the wall. She held her hand out, her palm behind her facing the wall, and magically pushed against the object. She kept her eyes on Emma the entire time and held a devilish, almost lustful, lambency in her eyes before they flashed purple.

Emma clenched and unclenched her fists at her sides as she prepared for Regina's attack, her eyes less deer-caught-in-headlights and more embracing of the scene that unfolded before her.

Regina reached out and waved her hand toward herself. She magically caused Emma's feet to give way under her and the blonde fell onto her backside.

Emma grunted on impact, but didn't have time to react any more than that before she felt herself being dragged across the floor.

Regina slid Emma toward her with the blonde on her back. She stopped the princess before Emma could slide between her legs and stared down at the younger woman.

She flicked her fingers in almost a dismissive manner and magically bound Emma to the floor.

“What else are you ready for,” Regina purred as she brought herself to her knees beside the blonde.

She brushed a stray strand of golden curls out of Emma's face then leaned in for a chaste kiss.

When their lips met, a warmth filled both women in the short amount of time they remained connected at the mouth. The kiss lasted a few seconds that nearly felt like hours.

It soothed Emma and made Regina feel a sense of safety.

Regina broke the kiss as she pulled back and sat up straight while still on her knees. She looked over Emma's soft features as the princess kept her eyes closed a moment more.

Regina felt conflicted between a smile and a frown. Part of her felt a lightness to her dark as she stared at Emma, but the other part felt sadness and disappointment of what could never be.

Emma opened her eyes and saw that Regina had settled for an unreadable, emotionless mask.

“Not that,” Emma confessed with a twinge of sadness before she broke free from magic restraints.

Emma's magic worked like fire as it burned away the restraints. Just as she released herself from them, she surprised Regina by lifting her left leg and used it to push Regina onto her back.

Emma pressed her shin against Regina's ribs and nudged her to the floor beside her. She rolled herself up onto all fours at the same time and, in one swift movement, straddled the Queen.

Regina tried to flick her wrists to use magic, but Emma grabbed them with her own and pinned them above Regina's head.

“Magic only, dear,” Regina tried to keep her composure.

Emma bit her bottom lip and eased her grip on Regina's wrists. She then tapped her index fingers against either wrist and slowly ran them down her forearms.

Regina stared at Emma with a puzzled expression, but didn't use the lack of restraint to her own advantage. She didn't fight Emma off of her, though she knew she probably should have.

The blonde didn't notice as she watched her fingers move across the other woman's skin. Once she reached Regina's elbows, she ran her fingers back up to the Queen's wrists. She wrapped her hands around the older woman's wrists as she had the first time.

Regina struggled to control her breathing as she looked straight at green eyes that wouldn't yet return her gaze.

Magic prickled at both of their skin that originated from Emma's hands. Like charging up a battery, the magic created blue restraints that crackled like controlled lightning bolts.

“You're tempting me,” Regina said in a smoky, raspy voice.

“How can I be doing that,” Emma asked as she ran her fingers down Regina's forearms again with a feather light touch.

Emma's curls rested over her breasts as she made herself comfortable on Regina's lower abdomen. She remained perfectly still on top of the Queen, no feigned innocence or teasing in her voice.

Regina clenched her jaw to keep herself from making any noises. She stared up into green eyes that stared back, an intensity in them she'd only seen through a mask when they left the masquerade together.

“You said you weren't ready,” Regina stated as she tried not move.

Regina knew if she squirmed beneath Emma in the slightest, the friction between them would make it that much harder to resist the glowing blonde beauty.

“I'm not,” Emma frowned.

“Then we should get back to your lesson...unless we're done for the day.”

Emma looked away then around the room. She started to nervously pick at Regina's lacy corset around the ribs.

“Are we done for the day,” Regina asked.

Emma looked at Regina again.

“Nobody has won yet,” Emma shook her head and caused her curls to bounce on her shoulders and chest.

Regina unconvincingly fought against the magic that bound her wrists to the floor. The magic stung her, though the sensation tickled her instead of her hurt her.

“I think you're clearly the winner here.”

“We both know you could get out of those,” Emma said as she continued to pick at the corset.

“Grab at my corset with any more force and there won't be a corset between us.”

“There wouldn't have been a corset between us before if we hadn't taken off our masks.”

“My, my, princess. Are you flirting with me?”

Emma smiled.

“If I were flirting with you, you'd know,” Emma leaned in a little closer for emphasis.

Regina's eyes strayed from Emma's to her breasts.

“Do tell me when you are ready,” Regina said as she kept her eyes on Emma's breasts.

“Ready for...that,” Emma asked as she pulled back.

Regina's eyes slid up from Emma's breasts to her green eyes.

“Yes,” Regina answered in a predatory growl.

“I don't get it,” Emma furrowed her brows. “Why not just take me if you want it?”

Regina flashed a grin as her eyes flashed purple.

Emma uncontrollably fell forward. Her hands smacked against the floor just above Regina's hands. Purple bands wrapped around Emma's wrists and bound her to the floor like Regina.

The force of Regina's magic made Emma move so fast her breasts nearly popped out of her dress. Her hair cascaded around both hers and Regina's faces as her pink lips hovered over the bridge of the brunette's nose.

Regina smirked as she felt Emma's hot breath on her face, her eyes locked on Emma's.

“Would you like me to,” Regina's voice had dropped an octave.

Emma stared at Regina, searching brown eyes, for a few moments before she responded.

“Would you do it if I said yes?”

Regina looked over Emma, every last dress covered inch of her, before she met the blonde's gaze again.

“No.”

Emma quizzically looked at the woman beneath her.

“All the stories I've heard about the Evil Queen and you wouldn't take advantage of me,” Emma disbelievingly stated.

“Well, most of those stories are true, my dear. But for clarification, no. I would not.”

“You are quite the mystery, aren't you,” Emma said with a smile. “May I ask why you wouldn't?”

“It seems like someone wants the dark, Evil Queen,” Regina proudly grinned. “Tell me, dear. All the stories you heard...only made you want me more?”

“That's not why I'm asking. But somehow...I do find you attractive in that outfit.”

“Mm. I think it would work better as a dress,” Regina purred as she arched her back to adjust herself and brushed her hips against Emma's inner thighs.

Their breasts grazed and her clothing covered center briefly pressed against Emma's before she lowered herself back down to the floor, still restrained.

Emma's breath hitched, but she kept her eyes open as she stared at Regina throughout the contact.

“Maybe...if you keep me here long enough...I'll get to see that,” Emma flirted.

Regina shook her head with a smile.

“You are not the good little girl I thought you would grow up to be,” Regina's smile turned into a seductive smirk.

“Hmm. Would you be disappointed in me if I told you that even though I'm still a virgin that I've still done plenty of things?”

“I don't think you could ever disappoint me,” Regina salaciously amused smile.

“You still haven't told me why you wouldn't take advantage of me.”

“And we still haven't declared a winner of this charade.”

Emma leaned in and kissed the Queen's cheek. She pulled back enough to look Regina in the eyes again.

After a split second, Regina broke her restraints.

Emma broke hers just as the brunette pushed Emma off her by rolling her body on top of the younger woman's.

Regina placed her hands on either side of Emma's head as she pinned the blonde to the floor. As she did, Emma brought her hands to Regina's hair and ran her fingers through long brunette locks.

Once Emma reached the tips of Regina's hair, she moved down to the black corset. She slowly, lightly ran her fingertips over material as she followed the curves of Regina's body.

“I wouldn't do it because you...are important.”

Regina rubbed her body against Emma's as she moved down and kissed her jaw.

Emma contentedly sighed as her eyes fluttered closed. She turned her head to the side and exposed more of her skin.

Regina grinned before she gave Emma a peck on the cheek then pulled back to stare at Emma.

“I believe I just won,” Regina gloated with a smirk.

Emma almost gasped as she opened her eyes and met Regina's gaze.

“Based only on the use of magic?”

Regina showed her teeth as her smirk widened.

“Would you like me to make it official? I'm sure you know as well as I do that I was going to win anyway.”

“We're not stopping until I win,” Emma said as she stopped her fingers just below Regina's waist.

Emma picked, or rather clawed, at Regina's corset again and drew the other woman's eyes to her hands.

Regina smirked.

“I think I'm going to wear corsets more often,” Regina said as her eyes scanned over Emma's hands and up her arms until she stared straight into green pools. “You seem to like them.”

Regina sat up straight as she continued to straddle Emma.

With the Queen's movement, Emma's hands fell from the corset to her own stomach.

“Waiting until you win will take more than a day. Your first magic lesson ends now.”

“And you win?”

“I always win,” Regina said in a low tone.

Emma started to frown and looked away.

Regina noticed and continued.

“But...”

Regina waited until she had the blonde's attention again.

“I think your idea of roaming the palace is far better than what I had in mind,” the Queen finished.

Emma smiled.

“I doubt that.”

Regina shrugged.

“Then consider it a favor.”

“Evil queens don't do favors.”

“Clearly you have never met an evil queen like me.”

“From what I've heard, though I don't believe everything my mother tells me, you don't do favors. I've only ever met one evil queen.”

“If you go by titles, there is only one. Me. But you would be surprised to meet some of my friends.”

“You have friends?”

Regina's jaw dropped.

“Oh, is that so hard to believe,” Regina asked as she stared at Emma, a bit entertained.

“Maybe,” Emma laughed a little as she spoke.

“Well, maybe I shall have you meet some of them. They would tear you apart.”

“That's assuring,” Emma sarcastically said.

“Aw,” Regina feigned concern as she smiled. “With your magic I'm sure it wouldn't hurt as much.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“What are you complaining about anyway,” Regina asked. “You get to roam the palace.”

“Is there a hidden agenda behind that?”

Regina shook her head then ran her finger up Emma's stomach from her lower abdomen to her breasts.

Emma arched her back and gripped Regina's leather clad thighs.

Regina victoriously smirked.

“Weak spot, my dear,” Regina asked, though she knew the answer by Emma's physical response. “Is this another?”

Regina asked her question as she brought her hand back down to Emma's lower stomach. She ran in across from hip to hip.

Emma gasped and squirmed beneath the brunette. She dug her nails into Regina's leather pants.

“No,” Emma poorly lied.

Regina leaned in and purred in Emma's ear.

“I want to take this time to remind you...tell me when you're ready.”

Regina sat up again and placed her hands over Emma's on her thighs.

“Until then,” Regina started as she removed Emma's hands from her body. “You and I will have to resume this later.”

Regina set Emma's hands on the blonde's stomach then leaned in and kissed the younger woman's neck.

“And you say I'm a tease,” Emma said as Regina pulled back and sat up again.

“That you are,” Regina grinned as she stood.

She extended a hand to Emma and helped the princess to her feet.

Emma looked at the bed.

“Your headboard is on fire.”

Regina looked over and took notice. She flicked her wrist and the fire disappeared while the scorched wood was made new.

“Are you really going to let me wander around the palace,” Emma asked after a moment when Regina looked at her again.

“Yes.”

“As soon as right now?”

“If you wish,” Regina said as she adjusted her corset.

The two of them stood facing each other in the bedroom.

“Dinner is at sundown.”

“What about my parents? You still suspect they're coming, don't you?”

“That should not keep up from a good meal,” Regina grinned.

“Fine,” Emma started. “I guess the first thing I'm going to find here is the dining chamber.”

“Allow me to make your search short. It's downstairs in the west wing. Third door on the right.”

“Thank you.”

“The rest of the palace is yours to discover.”

Emma beamed.

“Now,” Regina started with a smirk. “I have a few things to tend to, but I expect to see you at sundown.”

Regina turned and headed for the door.

Emma followed her out of the room and looked around the hall. She checked every direction to determine which one she'd go down first.

Regina turned to check on her and smiled as she saw the blonde happily look around the corridor.

“Enjoy,” Regina purred with a mischievous grin before she winked.

Emma tried not to blush as Regina ran her fingers through the tips of her tresses. She looked away to focus on one end of the hallway until Regina's hand left her. She turned to see Regina walk away and stared at the Queen before she turned down the opposite end of the hallway.

Her adventure had begun.

*          *          *

Regina tried not to touch her hair as she looked over the map she'd conjured on the surface of a round table. She felt all too feminine and nothing like an evil queen as she ran her fingers though her long brunette locks. She couldn't explain why she suddenly wanted to touch her own hair, but she feared if she continued to do just that she would start to twirl the tips around her index finger like a lovesick teenager. She hadn't done that since she spent her afternoons with Daniel at the stables and even then it was rare.

“Your Majesty,” one of her guards formed her title into a question and pulled her from her thoughts.

Regina turned her head to look at him as he spoke.

“There's been word of Snow White and her prince successfully removing the barrier outside their palace.”

“Then it shouldn't be long now,” Regina thought aloud.

“We still have no course of action,” the guard reminded her.

“I'm well aware of the situation at hand,” Regina bitterly said as she heard the accusation in his tone.

“What do you suppose we do?”

“I've always favored guerrilla warfare,” she noncommittally shrugged to prove how little she thought of his needless questions.

“Shall we guard the perimeter?”

“Not the immediate perimeter. Stay in the shadows toward the edge of the estate and take defense. Only attack when they try to pass...and show some mercy,” she threw the last part in as an afterthought.

“Mercy,” he incredulously asked. “Since when do you have us show mercy?”

“Since not everyone deserves to pay brutally for Snow White's crimes against me,” she barked.

The guard suspiciously eyed Regina before he voiced his concern that was more like a judgment.

“Would your sudden need for mercy happen to stem from the young girl's presence?”

“The girl is none of your concern,” Regina almost growled.

“Why not kill her and destroy Snow White once and for all?”

“Killing the princess would not make Snow suffer the way I intend her to,” Regina defended.

The guard looked unconvinced.

She glared at him.

“Inquire about the princess again and those will be the last words you speak,” she boldly warned.

The guard straightened up and tensed as he resumed the role of obedient lackey. He tightly clenched his jaw and kept his arms stiffly crossed at his wrists in front of him.

“Take your faction of fifteen men to the edge of my land and wait for Snow White and the prince. Hold their guards off until I can assemble the others and form a more intricate plan.”

He nodded then returned and exited the war room.

Regina looked down and inspected the magically created map of the feuding lands. She held a hand over the outskirts of her own land and moved her index and middle finger in a circle above the map. Purple magic sparked from her fingers and struck the area on the map like a bolt of lightning before it flooded the rest of the map like crashing waves.

Several glowing blue dots appeared on the map and gravitated inward toward her palace. A safe distance behind the hoard of blue dots were two glowing white dots that moved in the same direction. They were surrounded by only a handful of blue dots separate from the hoard and Regina understood the white to represent Snow and Charming. The blue would be their army most likely comprised of both militia and a Royal Guard.

Regina wickedly grinned at the map as her eyes gleamed at the sight of the white dots. They stopped moving, still a good distance from the dark palace, and she throatily, victoriously chuckled.

*          *          *

Emma walked down a long, quiet corridor and turned into a dimly lit room. She scanned the walls as bookshelf after bookshelf lined them and surrounded a grand piano and lounge section.

A little off center of the room were two elegant leather couches and a mahogany table between them, the piano only a few feet away. The table displayed a chess board with the black and white pieces already properly placed on it. She passed one of the walls and lazily ran her fingertips over the book bindings on the shelf as she ventured toward the table.

When she found herself beside one of the couches, she stroked the leather on the arm of the couch before she turned and sat. She bounced a few times on the plump furniture before she settled. She sighed and leaned forward, her hands on her knees as she studied the chess board in front of her. She noted the differences between the board she stared at the one at her own palace. Her family's board was made of crystal and a centrally embedded silver plate the game pieces rested on with as much shine as her father's sword. Regina's board was made of jet black marble trimmed with thin gold around the inner border, the outer boarder being the edge of the board itself and not the playing field.

Emma rested her chin in her hand as she debated whether or not to start a game. She wondered if Regina would even notice.

She reached out to move one of the white pieces but pulled her hand back a small bit as it briefly hovered over the board. After a moment, Emma pulled her hand away from the board completely and placed it in her lap.

She tensed her shoulders and looked around the room again before she stood. She wandered toward one of the bookshelves and scanned over the titles on the bindings. An entire row was dedicated to text about horses. Whether it focused on riding, grooming, or breeds there was a vast amount of information on the subject. There were a number of books about many other things, some Emma wasn't sure she even understood, but something drew her to a book about horseback riding. She'd never really learned, but she hadn't made much of an effort to schedule riding lessons either. Still, it was good to know how, especially when it was the only form of efficient transportation in their world.

She took the book with her as she exited the room the same way she'd entered. The sun had started to fade, not as high in the sky as it had been when she and Regina were in the Queen's bed chamber.

She walked down the corridor and went back upstairs then counted the rooms back to Regina's bed chamber. She headed in the direction the brunette had gone after her magic lesson and listened for a smoky voice she'd started to like a little too much.

She passed five or six rooms before she felt something in her chest, a pull or a surge. She couldn't tell one from the other as she narrowed in on a specific room on the left. The feeling started to overwhelm her as she reached the door. When she peeked inside, Regina leaned over a glowing table with her back to the door.

Emma's eyes shifted south as she took in the sight of the Queen's assets appropriately displayed in tight leather. She couldn't deny her attraction to the Queen, especially since she'd almost went to bed with her after only knowing her through a mask for five minutes. She didn't even know the woman's name, where she came from, or anything about her past before they felt each other up while crushed against a tree after dancing in the moonlight. But everything had changed when the masks came off.

Or did they?

Emma's eyes remained fixated on Regina's ass until she fell into a trance-like state.

Regina felt a tug at her heart and recognized the feeling, the magnetic pull. She turned only her upper body as she kept herself slightly bent over the table and noticed the blonde's eyes trained on her lower half. She followed the younger woman's gaze to her ass then looked at Emma with a devilish grin.

“I'm flattered, dear,” Regina's sultry, flirtatious and teasing tone snapped Emma back to reality.

Emma almost jumped like she'd been startled at the sound of Regina's voice and quickly locked eyes with the brunette.

“Good,” Emma curtly said with wide eyes at the realization she'd been caught. “You should also be proud.”

Regina's grin widened and took on a more wicked and sinfully delighted look.

“That I am, my dear princess,” she kept her tone low and smoky.

Her words mixed with her tone sent shivers down Emma's spine. The blonde had to fight to keep her eyes open throughout the pleasurable sensation.

“Supper isn't ready yet. The sun hasn't completely gone down.”

“I know,” Emma said as she subconscious clutched the book in her hands to her chest.

She hadn't even remembered she had it.

Regina's eyes went from Emma's green pair to the book.

“You want me to read you a bedtime story,” Regina teased as she raked her eyes up Emma's body from the book back to green eyes.

Emma looked quizzically at Regina then felt the weight of the book in her hands and looked down at it. She self-consciously lowered it and eased up on her grip as she sheepishly redirected her gaze at Regina with innocent eyes slightly hidden under long lashes.

“No,” she softly answered then cleared her throat.

Regina's grin morphed into an amused smile. She couldn't help but notice how adorable Emma looked at times when her softer, less guarded side showed. She may have been twenty-eight, but sometimes her faces suggested she could be a scared and timid little girl.

Emma nervously shifted from foot to foot as she tried to regain her normal stature. She straightened up and looked at the floor for a moment before she stared at Regina.

“I wanted to see what you were doing,” Emma casually answered as she managed to keep the nauseating fragility out of her tone.

She mentally kicked herself for seeming so lost and small.

“And the book,” Regina asked as she glanced at it once more.

“I thought you could teach me.”

Regina furrowed her brow as she tried to understand Emma. She stood up straight and turned completely toward the blonde. She sauntered over to the princess and lowered her gaze to the book one step before she came to a complete stop in front of the woman. She took it from Emma's arms and checked the cover for its title. She smiled when she read it and grazed her fingers over the lettering as she momentarily reminisced. It quickly turned into a pained frown from tortured memories before she looked up at Emma again.

Emma frowned as she noticed the change in Regina's demeanor.

“You want me to teach you how to ride,” Regina asked.

Emma nodded, their eyes glued to each other.

“I can't. And I'm teaching you magic, isn't that enough,” she harshly asked as she heavily dropped the book back into Emma's unsuspecting arms.

Emma fumbled with it before she could get a good grip and pressed it to her chest again as Regina returned to the oddly glowing table. Seconds after, Emma followed.

“It is, but...I never really learned how to ride horses. I don't even know how I made it to the barrier on one without falling or hurting the poor thing. I'd really appreciate it if you taught me.”

“Get a riding instructor. Have him teach you,” Regina said as she avoided eye contact with Emma, the blonde beside her and staring directly at her.

“The last man that tried to teach me got kicked in the ribs by a bucking stallion.”

“Why on earth would he be so foolish to teach a novice how to ride on a stallion,” Regina incredulously said as she turned with widen eyes to face Emma.

Emma smiled to have gotten the Queen's attention.

“He didn't teach me to ride on the stallion and he certainly didn't teach me anything that day. He tried to explain to me how to scrape the hooves and I made a jerky movement to do what he said. It startled the horse so it jumped up and kicked him on the way down. It would've kicked me, but I was off to the side and knew to move away when it jumped.”

Regina shook her head.

“He should have rescheduled your lesson if he had no other horses. You could have gotten hurt...or killed. If that stallion had kicked you in the head-”

“But it didn't. I'm fine. Why do you care anyway? It was three years ago.”

Regina frowned.

“Your first riding lesson was only three years ago?”

“Mhmm,” Emma confirmed.

“Has your mother lost her mind? You should have been riding when you were at least twelve!”

“Oh, she tried to get me to take a lesson. I refused, though it was only after I had gotten on the horse and failed to ride it with any grace.”

“Why,” Regina softened as she asked in astonishment at Emma's response.

Emma shrugged.

“I always thought it was just another way they'd make me into their perfect little Charming daughter. I've been running away from the responsibilities of leading a kingdom since I was six and my dad had his first heart tremor.”

“Heart tremor?”

“Is wasn't really a heart attack, but there was an irregularity to his heartbeat. He said it felt rock solid in his chest and the Blue Fairy said it was beating two times too fast.”

“It was caused by your rebellion?”

“Maybe,” Emma looked away.

Regina suspiciously eyed Emma as though she knew the other woman wasn't telling her the entire story.

“What's this,” Emma asked after she looked over at the map and noticed all the glowing dots.

Regina stared at Emma for another moment before she followed the blonde's gaze to the map and allowed her own question to recede to the back of her mind.

“A map,” she answered after a moment.

“What are all the glowing specks?”

“Locations.”

“Of what?”

“People.”

Realization dawned on her.

“My people. Specifically my parents,” Emma stated though she still need confirmation.

“Yes,” Regina nodded as she strained to keep her eyes on the map, unable to look at Emma in case she saw disappointment in beautiful green eyes.

“Do you have a plan,” Emma curiously asked.

“Only to guard the far perimeter of my estate. I want to keep anyone from getting in. I've already sent fifteen men to keep them out.”

“Will there be fighting,” Emma asked in a way both physically and verbally told the Queen she was afraid to know the truth.

“Yes,” Regina reluctantly answered. “But only if we're attacked. I told my men not to strike first.”

Emma slowly nodded as she let that sink in.

“What else do you have in mind? Certainly fifteen men won't protect you long.”

“It'll buy me some time. That's all I need.”

“No, you need a plan. Guarding the far perimeter isn't a plan.”

“Oh, and I suppose you know all about plans.”

“Growing up with parents that pushed you to fear the Evil Queen and always having to hear whispers about whether or not she'd attempt to break the barrier or not, yeah, I think I learned a few things.”

“Please, your kingdom can't plot an attack like I can,” Regina dismissively waved her hand like it was inarguable.

“Who said anything about an attack? You told me the men you sent out are not to strike first. You're playing defense. My parents are on the offense this time. The roles seem to be reversed. I won't waste time and ask why, but you're going to need a plan that doesn't involve slaughtering first and asking questions later.”

Regina huffed and put a hand on her hip as she leaned against the table with her other hand.

“You need a barricade or something. Like a detour or a giant wall. Something that will without a doubt prevent them from getting in.”

“Hmm,” Regina considered it then looked outside. “It's almost time for supper. Would you like to accompany me to the dining hall?”

“Um, actually...can I go outside? I want to watch the sun set.”

Regina's lips curled into a small smile.

“That can be arranged,” Regina said before she took Emma's hand. “Come with me, dear.”

Emma followed Regina out of the palace, bound by their laced fingers, and waited for Regina to stop somewhere.

Regina led Emma toward a clearing on top of a hill. The grassy terrain was smooth for about a mile before it sloped down into a valley on the other end as it approached the white palace. She let go of Emma's hand and sat down in the grass.

“Sit,” Regina said as she patted the spot beside her and looked up at Emma.

Emma looked from Regina to the setting sun as it slid toward the horizon. It looked huge from their location, like if she were to keep moving forward she might actually be able to touch it. She looked back down at Regina who had laid on her back on her elbows to watch the orange ball. She sighed and sat next to Regina.

“If you look past the bunch of trees to the right, you can see your palace,” Regina said as she pointed off into the distance.

Emma looked and squinted to see it.

“It looks so small from here,” Emma said as she stared at it.

“Indeed. I used to come out here every day and watch the sun set.”

“Really?”

Emma turned away from the palace and looked at Regina.

“Yes,” Regina chuckled. “Is that another thing so hard to believe?”

“No, it's just...I sit in one of the trees in front of my palace to watch it set. Every day.”

“You climb trees for fun?”

Emma nodded.

“Since I was a little girl. My mother always scolded me for it, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the view. ...Hey, if we can see my palace from here, could I have seen your palace from there?”

“I suppose it's possible, but with the barrier maybe it was harder to see.”

Emma leaned back on her elbows and sighed as she faced the sun again.

“You know, when I was in the tree staring up at the sun I would get that feeling. That strange pull that steered me away from all the men my parents made me court. They were afraid I was going to be a spinster so they found nice, willing gentlemen to take me out. But that pull, that force, always told me it wasn't right.”

“Yes, I remember you telling me something about that.”

“Well, that's what I felt. Every time I watched the sun set I got that feeling. Except...it wasn't telling me to run away from something. It was tugging at me like it wanted me to chase something. Of course, I didn't understand it so I never went after whatever was the cause of that feeling. But when I relaxed and convinced myself that I was happy to just watch the sun set and know there was something out their calling to me, waiting for me, the feeling changed. It didn't demand a chase but allowed me to feel content and satisfied...like for a moment, whatever I was missing in my life – even if I didn't know what that was – I felt whole.”

“Is that why you watch every day? Because of that feeling?”

“Yes. It started when I was old enough to climb. I was playing in the yard when the sun started to go down. I decided to climb the tree and that feeling hit me after a few moments. Once the sun went down, I had that incomplete feeling again and, for some reason, decided to have faith in my feelings. I did the same thing the next night and the night after that. The feeling always returned so I kept watching. Before I knew it, I never wanted to miss a sunset.”

“Did you miss it the night of your ball?”

“Unfortunately,” Emma frowned. “I was at a dress fitting. My mother insisted the dress wasn't complete so I had to stay inside. ...I still got that feeling though. I was looking at my reflection and suddenly, it coursed through me. I felt good.”

Regina grinned.

“The same thing happened to me. That night, when I was getting ready, I had a similar feeling as I stood in front of my own mirror.”

“Strange, isn't it,” Emma smiled.

Regina nodded and hummed before she closed her eyes and bathed in the glow of the dwindling sunlight.

“My parents...” Emma started then trailed off as she kept her eyes on the sunset. “How close are they?”

Regina looked at Emma with a creased brow and stared silently for a moment.

“Why do you keep asking about them?”

“I'm...concerned.”

“About?”

“If what you say is true, that the feud between you and my parents will go on for a while, then there's going to be a war.”

“Does that bother you, dear,” Regina asked as she rolled onto her side, still propped up on an elbow.

Emma remained sitting and brought her knees to her chest.

“Someone's going to get hurt,” the blonde answered as she rested her chin on her knees.

“You still think I'm going to kill them.” Regina asked, oddly almost afraid of the answer.

Emma ignored the question.

“They're never going to let me leave my room let alone the palace when this is all over,” Emma said.

“All the more reason to enjoy your time here,” Regina grinned as she pushed from her elbow onto her hand then raised her other hand to Emma's shoulder.

The Queen tapped the princess' shoulder and sent a magical spark into her body.

“Ah,” Emma flinched at the shock then quickly hissed afterward.

Emma rubbed her shoulder and looked back to see Regina still grinning.

The brunette even chuckled when Emma poked her in the shoulder in retaliation, magic-less.

“I'll teach you how tomorrow,” Regina said as her chuckling died down. “Although, I do want you to control that transportation spell.”

“Big lesson tomorrow?”

“Mhmm,” Regina gave a nod. “You still have a lot to learn.”

“But I'm good at it, right?”

“You...are,” Regina started as she sat up completely and leaned in. “A natural.”

Regina slowly pulled back Emma's golden curls to exposed her neck. Her eyes darkened with sinful lust as she kept them focused on the green eyes above her, watching her.

Emma cleared her throat and stiffened as she moved away from the Queen.

“However,” Regina picked up her previous conversational point. “You lack control.”

The brunette raked a fingernail up Emma's bicep then used it to pull down the strap of the blonde's dress.

Emma shrugged off Regina’s hand.

Regina frowned, though not too torn up about the rejection.

“We should get inside. Supper is almost ready,” Regina changed the subject and got to her feet.

Emma nodded in understanding as she tried not to look as sad and fragile as she felt. She looked toward her palace as Regina brushed off her leather pants and lace corset. She squinted her eyes to focus on small, moving figures in the distance. They disappeared behind a few trees then reappeared closer to Emma and Regina's location. She gasped.

“Emma,” Regina asked as she quizzically looked down at the shocked and worried blonde.

“They're almost here” Emma said as she kept her wide eyes trained on the forest.

Regina followed her gaze and saw a group of guards stride toward her palace at a rapid pace. She clenched her jaw.

Emma whipped her head around and looked up at Regina.

“You don't have a plan,” she stated as she recognized Regina's hard features.

“It matters not,” Regina said before she snapped her eyes away from the forest and onto Emma.

“We must get back to the palace. I'll send the rest of my guards to hold them off.”

“All of your guards? What if they kill all your guards and make it to your front door. After everything you've done? They'll execute you.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time they've tried, dear,” Regina directed her words at Emma, but she was only thinking out loud

Regina offered her hand to Emma.

“Come along, Princess. We don't have much time,” Regina said as she waited for the blonde to take her hand.

Emma still looked worried but took her hand and allowed the Queen to help her stand.

Even with Emma on her feet, Regina kept the younger woman's hand in hers. She pulled Emma along with her as she fast-walked back to her palace in her heels.

The sound of horses and grunts and swords hitting swords grew louder the closer they got to the castle. Panic started to set in with Emma. Her stomach did flips and twisted itself in knots over and over again. There was trouble ahead. The magnetic pull was back, but in the way that always told Emma something wasn't right.

Regina let go of Emma when they stood between her palace and the onslaught of guards.

Yelps and cries were heard while the guards were injured or killed. Emma cringed as she felt that pull in her lower stomach. It almost made her nauseous.

“Regina,” Emma called out as she hastily grabbed the brunette's hand.

The Queen turned around and furrowed her brows in confusion as she studied Emma's expression, desperate and pleading.

Regina shook her head.

“What is it?”

“We have to make a barrier...like the one my parents made to keep you away from me”

“What? No. Whatever magic I have won't be strong enough to keep them out. It would last an hour at most.”

“What about me? I can help.”

“No.”

“You said it yourself, I'm good.”

“Yes, but I also said you lack control. You've used magic only twice and the first time you wore yourself out.”

“If we don't at least try, something bad is going to happen.”

“You don't know that.”

“Emma,” both women heard Snow cry from a short distance.

They turned to see Snow and Charming fighting their way through the Queen's army with an army of their own.

Emma tilted her head to the side when she looked at Regina again.

“Trust me,” Emma softly said, begging.

Regina's breathing was shallow as adrenaline coursed through her, a decision to be made. She looked over at the impending threat of losing to her enemy again. She sighed and looked back at Emma.

“You would help me,” Regina asked, skeptical but hopeful.

Emma gulped and took a deep breath before she took Regina's other hand and sent her magic pulsing through the brunette's veins.

Regina’s breath hitched and she felt the truth in Emma's silent answer in the other woman's magic.

Regina opened her mouth to speak but words failed her.

“Just take it,” Emma encouraged. “Take the magic you need from me. Help me to help you.”

Regina searched green eyes almost as if she were waiting for Emma to change her mind, hoping even.

“Get your hands off her,” Charming yelled in a booming voice before fending off a guard.

Regina didn't take her eyes off Emma.

Emma refused to look anywhere else but brown eyes.

Neither one of them paid any attention to Charming or the battle that existed only ten feet away.

“This may hurt,” Regina warned.

“Do it,” Emma encouraged with a nod.

Magic crackled between their joined hands. Gold and purple sparks ignited for anyone in viewing distance to see.

Regina's lips parted when her jaw dropped slightly. The magnetic pull hit her as she felt Emma's magic mix with her own and the feeling intoxicated her. Her eyes flashed purple as Emma's flashed gold while the two continued to stare at each other.

“No,” Snow screamed as a jolt of purple and gold shot out from Emma and Regina.

Emma squeezed Regina's hands tighter and winced as she felt the magic, the energy, being sucked out of her. She almost couldn't breathe.

Regina pressed her fingers, laced with Emma's, against the back of the blonde's hands. She used her thumbs to rub circles over them and stepped closer to the younger woman.

Emma dug her nails into the back of Regina's hands and focused on building a wall between her parents and Regina. She tightly closed her eyes as she tried to overcome the pain she felt as all her magic left her, but opened her eyes to stare into Regina's once again.

Regina looked to see their progress on the barrier as it weaved together, purple and gold, until Regina's magic overpowered Emma's and made a rich purple wall. She knew Emma was wearing down as she saw the way the colors of their magic dueled. She turned to Emma again and saw her tired expression.

“You're doing well, dear,” Regina whispered to Emma. “We're almost done.”

“Regina! Let her go,” Snow yelled as she started to charge the older brunette.

“Stay with me,” Regina said as she and Emma kept their eyes locked.

She brought one of Emma's hands to her mouth and kissed her knuckles.

Emma's eyes slowly closed and she exhaled as the barrier secured itself with waves of gold.

Regina slowly started to smile then turned to check on their efforts.

Snow ran right into the barrier with Charming close behind and was sent flying back into his arms. He caught her and stumbled back a few steps before he looked up at a grinning Regina.

Charming gave a slack jawed expression as he took in the sight of his daughter as she fell into the Evil Queen, eyes closed like she had fallen asleep. Charming didn't think that was all that had just happened.

“Emma,” he yelled in an attempt to wake her.

Snow pushed off Charming's forearms and stood. She hurried toward the barrier again but stopped a few steps short of it, careful not to get thrown a second time. Charming followed suit and stood behind her.

“You won't get away with this,” Snow barked through gritted teeth.

Regina chuckled, an arm wrapped around Emma's waist as the princess' limp arms loosely wrapped around her neck.

Emma's head rested in the crook of Regina's neck and Regina stroked a hand through golden curls in front of Snow and Charming.

“She's mine,” Regina growled with a wicked smirk.

Snow took the few remaining steps to the barrier and raised a hand. She angrily pressed it against the magical wall, but it shocked her.

“Now you'll know what it's like being kept away from what you want most,” Regina victoriously stated before a puff of purple smoke swirled around her and Emma.

“No,” Snow shouted as both she and Charming reached out for their daughter only to be pushed back by the magic trapped inside the thin but impenetrable barrier.

Regina couldn't stop grinning as the smoke consumed her and Emma. She kept her eyes on Snow White and her gallant prince with devious pride until the purple smoke clouded her vision. Within seconds, the smoke dissipated and she had returned to her bed chamber. Her grin immediately fell to a sad frown as she looked down at Emma.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she ran her hand through Emma's hair again.

Regina turned to the bed with the blonde, Emma's back to it, and gently lay the younger woman on it. As she leaned over Emma's body, exhaustion hit her. She stood up and caressed Emma's cheek with the back of her hand before she gracefully waved it over Emma. She turned Emma's dress into another borrowed sleep ensemble.

She hooked her arms under Emma's knees as her legs hung off the foot of the bed and lifted them to her own ribs. She pushed the princess further onto the bed as she simultaneously crawled onto it herself. She unintentionally knelt between Emma's legs as she eased them onto the bed then stared down at the sleeping princess. She smiled as she refrained from touching her any more than she already had and slid off the bed.

Regina resisted taking her eyes off Emma and leaving the room, but as tired as she was from the magic she still had supper waiting on her. She slowly made her way to the door but stared at Emma the entire time. Regina suddenly felt protective of the younger woman. She didn't want to leave her alone, even in her own palace, and she had no idea why.

She sighed and finally looked forward as she stepped into the hall. She headed down to the kitchen and dealt with the no longer necessary dining plans.


	6. Chapter 6

“The barrier is holding strong, Your Majesty,” one of the remaining guards informed Regina in the war room. “Snow White and Prince Charming have been unsuccessful in destroying it.”

“Good,” Regina dismissively said. “Although that's not surprising. It's only been a day. You're excused.”

Regina waved the guard away as she stared down at the magical map and spent a few minutes focusing on the newly formed golden line meant to represent the barrier. She watched as white and blue dots retreated from it. Pleased with the outcome, she went down to the kitchen.

“Cook, have two orders of tonight's supper sent up to my chambers when it's finished,” Regina ordered.

The cook nodded before Regina turned and left.

She glided up the stairs and went straight to her room. Upon entry, she looked over at her bed and sighed. On top of the sheets lay the blonde princess, asleep and peaceful as ever. Her curls fell around her face and the tips of her hair rose and fell with her chest.

Regina had magically changed Emma out of the golden dress and into lace up, calfskin pants and an off-white peasant top. A small smile graced her lips as she watched Emma sleep and crossed the room. She perched herself on the bed next to the girl and slowly ran her hand through Emma's hair.

Emma took a deep breath, her eyes still closed, as she shifted in the bed.

Regina's smile widened.

“Wake up, my dear,” she softly cooed.

Emma hummed and furrowed her brow before she could open them. Green eyes landed on the Queen and she turned on her side to face the brunette.

“Did I help,” Emma sleepily asked.

Regina almost beamed at her.

“Yes. You were amazing,” Regina said as she placed a hand on Emma's hip and leaned in.

Regina gave Emma a peck on the check. Her lips lingered as she slowly pulled away from the blonde then smirked when she saw Emma gaze up at her.

“Thank you,” Regina purred.

“What happened with the barrier? Is it up?”

“Indeed. Your parents haven't been able to get in since we made it.”

“Well, it's only been a few hours since then, right?”

“I'm afraid you've been asleep a lot longer than that, dear.”

“How long?”

“It was supper time yesterday when we created the barrier. You've been unconscious for a full day.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm.”

A knock came at the door before a servant entered with a silver tray that held two plates.

“Your Majesty? The food you ordered,” the servant bowed before the Queen.

“Set it on the table there,” Regina casually motioned to the bedside table on her side of the mattress.

The servant did as she was told then waited.

“Go now,” Regina shooed the woman away.

The servant curtsied and left the two of them alone.

“You must be hungry,” Regina said as she reached for the finely designed tray.

“I'm still kind of tired actually,” Emma frowned. “I feel weak.”

Regina frowned as well before she turned away from the tray and back to Emma. “Still? Well, you exerted a lot of energy. I suppose that's not uncommon.”

Emma tried to reposition herself and cringed.

Regina only watched as Emma shifted, but when the blonde grunted and scrunched up her face, she nearly jumped into action.

“On your back,” Regina commanded as she sat up on her knees.

“Why?”

“I'm a queen, dear. You don't need any other reason than that to obey me.”

“Yeah, you're a queen. Not my queen.”

“I'm trying to help,” Regina tried not to get agitated.

Emma could see the brunette had become a little flustered. She smiled.

“Relax. I was going to do it. I'm just giving you a hard time,” she said before she rolled onto her back.

Emma kept her eyes focused on Regina's as she situated herself. She winced as she wriggled around to make herself comfortable. When she stilled, she watched Regina lean over her.

Regina's hands pushed up Emma's shirt with a feather like touch as her fingers gently slid across the blonde's fair, smooth skin.

Emma gasped and shot out a hand to stop her. She grabbed Regina's right wrist.

“What are you doing,” Emma asked, a little nervous.

“I need to see something. I promise I won't do anything you don't like, but I will look where I need to look whether you want me to or not.”

Emma exhaled and slowly pulled her hand back.

“Thank you,” Regina said before she looked at Emma's stomach and continued to push Emma's shirt upward.

Regina stopped the shirt at Emma's chest and tried to maintain a straight face when she saw the bruising around Emma's ribs. She swallowed and kept her jaw tight.

“Is something wrong,” Emma asked as she worried about Regina's faltering expression.

Regina struggled to find a way to explain.

“Bruises.”

“Really,” Emma asked as she tried to sit up on her elbows too quickly.

Emma yelped and tensed before she nearly collapsed onto the bed.

“Easy,” Regina soothingly said then rubbed one of Emma's arm. “It's not too horrible.”

“What could have caused them? I've been in this bed since the barrier went up, right?”

Regina nodded.

“Then what?”

“Most likely from the magic. You used magic earlier for our lesson yesterday. Then you made a barrier with me, a barrier similar to the one outside your palace. That was made with the strongest of both light and dark magic. For you to have done such a thing, physical repercussions can be expected.”

“Am I going to have to stay in bed until it heals?”

“Only if you won't let me repair the damage.”

“And how would you do that?”

“Magic.”

“You can heal me with magic?”

“I transferred my energy to you with magic, didn't I? Healing is a little more complicated than that, but it's the same idea.”

“Will it hurt?”

“It might.”

“Is there...a way to make it not hurt?”

Regina looked over Emma's exposed skin before she met the blonde's gaze.

“Possibly. Do you want me to heal you?”

Emma nodded.

“Then you should relax. It shouldn't take long and the less resistance there is the faster and easier this will be. Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Emma softly responded.

“Take a deep breath.”

Emma did.

Regina lightly rested a hand over the bruising and placed the other on Emma's hip. She swung a leg over Emma's thighs and straddled her. She pressed down on Emma's hip and moved her fingers in small circles around the bruises.

Emma twisted up her face in discomfort before she felt the tingle of Regina's magic leave her fingers.

“Shh, it's okay,” Regina tried to keep Emma calm as the blonde started to whimper and groan.

Regina started to massage Emma's hip then flattened her palm against her hipbone. She released a small surge of magic to sooth Emma while the other burst of magic strengthened injured ribs.

Emma's breath hitched as she suddenly felt the magic at her hip. It flowed through her body from the place of origin, up her side and down to an extremely sensitive area between her legs.

“You're doing that on purpose,” Emma said as her eyes threatened to close.

Regina grinned.

“Of course. It's distracting, isn't it?”

Regina spoke in a low, flirtatious tone. Her hand slid lower than Emma's hipbone and disappeared inside Emma's pants.

“Wait,” Emma breathlessly exclaimed.

Regina's hand stopped above Emma's most sensitive spot, her fingers ready to move even lower.

“Don't,” Emma pleaded.

“I won't. This is all I was trying to do,” Regina said before she made circles with her fingers in the same place she stopped them.

Pulses of magic left her fingertips and charged through Emma's lower abdomen and center.

Emma took a deep, surprised breath before she squirmed under Regina.

“No, no, no, no, no,” Emma protested as she squeezed her eyes shut.

“You don't like what I'm doing,” Regina asked, though she didn't stop.

“I do.”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“I'm not...” Emma trailed off as she tried to regulate her breathing.

“Ready,” Regina calmly finished for the blonde. “I know.”

Regina's magic retreated from both Emma's ribs and her lower half. She took her hand out of Emma's pants and smiled down at Emma as she leaned in and stole a kiss.

“All done,” Regina smirked as she pulled away.

Emma rolled her eyes as she realized what Regina had done.

“Very sneaky and absurdly distracting.”

“You didn't even notice what was happening here,” Regina traced around the skin where the bruises used to be with the light touch of her fingertips.

Regina lowered her head and brought her lips to Emma's ribs. She kissed the newly healed area.

Emma hummed in response.

“Still tired,” Regina asked as she sat up.

“A little.”

“Come here.”

Emma furrowed her brow as she wondered what exactly Regina wanted her to do. After a few moments, she propped herself up on her elbows.

Regina met Emma the rest of the way and leaned in. Her lips were close to Emma's as she looked over Emma's face, from eyes to chin back up to Emma's pink lips. She smirked as she noticed those lips were parted. She closed the small remaining distance and kissed the princess.

Emma didn't hesitate before she kissed back. She hungrily kissed Regina as though she feared the brunette's lips would vanish in seconds, as though none of it were real and she'd never feel like that again. Her heart soared and her blood boiled. She felt her heart pound against her chest in a crescendo the more their lips made contact.

Regina moaned as her hand found one of Emma's concealed breasts and slid her tongue across Emma's bottom lip.

Emma whimpered as she darted her tongue out to meet Regina's in confirmation the queen could have access.

Regina didn't hesitate to snake her tongue between Emma's lips and play with the other woman's tongue. She rolled her hips forward against Emma's center and pressed her stomach against Emma's, though the blonde's was the only one on display. She brushed the pad of her thumb over Emma's nipple through the peasant top and felt it harden.

“Mm. Seems our Charming princess is attracted to the dark side,” Regina wickedly grinned as she briefly pulled away. “Tell me, dear. Are you easily seduced?”

“I'm fairly sure my sexual history answers that question. I would say the dark queen likes the good side. Tell me, why waste your time with a virgin?”

“If I have to keep answering that question, maybe I shouldn't bother with you at all.”

“Then answer another question. Do you ever think about the person you were before you were evil?”

“You really want to talk when we could be-”

“Could what? Do you only want to put your hands all over me? That's as bad as taking advantage of me.”

“No. That's not-” Regina cut herself off then sighed. “I don't know what you want. First you let me kiss you then things seem to escalate and now you're asking me questions because you want to talk. I just don't understand where you're at right now.”

“Guess you've never been with anyone as frustrating as me,” Emma frowned.

Regina furrowed her brow in confusion.

“No one else has understood me either,” Emma sadly continued. “The last date I had...we started kissing and after a little while, he was touching me and I said stop. He didn't want to, but I told him I'd rather talk from then on. He got kind of angry and said we weren't stopping. He said I shouldn't be willing to go as far as we had just to stop him.”

“He didn't stop,” Regina asked, almost outraged.

“He did, but...it took him a while to get it in his head that I didn't want to go any further. He's supposed to be some noble prince and yet he was willing to do things with me that are only things to be shared between husband and wife. At least, that's how I've been raised to think.”

“But you weren't...” Regina trailed off with concern.

“No, but he wasn't the first prince to react like that. They all told me I wasn't worth the trouble. They all said I'd never get married if I continued to deny them what they deserved.”

“Give me thir names and I'll see to it they no longer think they deserve anything more than the pain I cause them.”

Regina started to get off Emma, but the blonde quickly reached out and grabbed her hips.

Emma pushed her down onto herself and forced her to stay.

“Don't.”

“Why shouldn't I,” Regina angrily said, though she made no move to leave again. “They don't deserve you and they certainly don't deserve you like that if that's how they act. You're not at all frustrating, just confusing and complicated. Nothing wrong with complicated.”

“Do you think you deserve me?”

Regina locked eyes with Emma. She stared at the younger woman for several silent moments.

“I don't think I deserve you. I know I don't.”

“How can you feel that way?”

“Have you met me? I'm the Evil Queen, dear. I don't deserve a beauty like you.”

“You weren't always evil though, were you. Does that Regina deserve me?”

“Maybe she would have, but if she were still around now she'd be with Daniel. We probably wouldn't have even met.”

“You don't have to stay 'evil'. Not that I really think you're evil.”

“You should. I've killed many people, too many to count. I've tortured more than that.”

“The question is...why.”

Regina sighed.

“Are you hungry yet,” Regina abruptly asked and changed the subject.

Regina shifted and tried to get off Emma for the second time.

Emma gripped Regina harder, even dug her nails in.

“I want to try something,” Emma spoke up.

“What would you like to try?”

“I want to try not to confuse you,” Emma said before she raised her hands to the neckline of Regina's gown.

Emma pulled her down by Regina's dress to bring their mouths close.

“I'm still not ready, but...” Emma trailed off as she captured Regina's lips with hers.

Regina fell into the kiss and trapped her hand in Emma's hair. She cupped the blonde's cheek and cautiously kissed Emma harder.

Emma deepened the kiss in response and their tongues danced together before they dueled. She grabbed one of Regina's hands and guided it down her bare stomach. Her breath hitched when she helped Regina touch her lower abdomen then stilled Regina's hand.

Regina's thumb rested just below Emma's navel, her palm pressed against Emma's heated skin.

Emma shifted under Regina and unintentionally slid a knee between Regina's legs.

Regina let out a surprised moan as she lurched toward the headboard to escape the contact. Unfortunately for her, Emma's knee seemed to follow her as they continued to kiss.

“Emma,” Regina whispered as she tore her lips away. “You're making it difficult to keep things from getting too intimate.”

“Oh, sorry,” Emma sheepishly said as she looked down and noticed her knee between Regina's thighs.

Emma brought her leg down onto the bed and bit her bottom lip.

“It's okay,” Regina said as she leaned in again and kissed Emma.

After a few more minutes, she lowered herself to Emma's jaw then down to her neck. She left a trail of wet kisses in her wake then continued onto Emma's collarbone and chest. She kissed above one of Emma's breasts then chastely kissed her way over to the top of the other breast.

Emma moaned and arched her back to feel more pressure from Regina's lips. She grabbed a fistful of Regina's long hair and held the brunette against her.

Regina hummed against Emma's skin and sent vibrations through the blonde's body. She grinned as she felt Emma keep her in place.

“Regina?”

“Hmm.”

Regina continued to kiss Emma's body.

“I'm...I really like this, but I'm actually starving,” she nervously laughed when she reached the end of her sentence.

Regina smiled and pulled away from Emma's skin.

“Not a problem. It makes it easier to resist you if we do something else.”

“Are you...sure it's okay with you?”

Regina shook her head and looked down almost pityingly at Emma.

“I told you we wouldn't do anything you're not comfortable with. You're in control of what happens physically.”

“Really?”

“Yes,” Regina nodded. “Food?”

Emma nodded and incidentally tangled her hair against a pillow in the process.

“Okay,” Regina said as she rolled off Emma and turned to the tray on the bedside table.

Regina took one of the plates from the tray and set it in her own lap. She picked up one of the finger foods on the plate and handed it to Emma as the blonde sat up against the headboard.

“Thank you,” Emma said as she took the food.

Regina poked at some of the food on the plate with a fork before she took a bite.

“Care for a drink,” Regina asked after she turned back to the table to retrieve the one glass the servant brought her. “It's apple cider. A little on the bitter side, but it's the best there is.”

“Sure,” Emma confirmed as she took the crystal glass from Regina.

Emma took a sip and twisted her face at the harsh aftertaste when she swallowed.

“You're right. It is a little bitter,” Emma said as she handed the glass back to Regina.

“You don't like it?”

“I think it's an acquired taste.”

Regina flashed a dark, pained grin.

“Guess that's true about a lot of things here.”

Emma narrowed her eyes, teasingly suspicious and directed at Regina. She rolled onto her side and leaned in. She playfully bit below Regina's clavicle then followed up with a quick lick in the same spot.

Regina's eyes slowly closed as her body tingled from the sensation.

Emma pulled away to look at Regina and smiled.

“You taste just fine to me,” Emma said with a low voice.

Regina opened her eyes and smirked down at Emma.

“Not much of a taste,” Regina started. “If you want to know how true my earlier statement is, you wouldn't have licked me there.”

Emma cleared the plate from Regina's lap as she placed it back on the tray before she straddled Regina's lap. She took the glass from Regina and grinned as she brought it to her lips then took a swig. She swallowed it without making a face that time.

“I bet you taste better,” Emma teased.

Emma leaned in, the glass still in her hand, and kissed Regina.

Regina's hand came up to rest below the waistline of Emma's pants and pressed against her backside. She applied more pressure when Emma deepened the kiss and wrapped her arms around Regina's neck.

Emma lifted herself off Regina's lap as she pushed her hips against Regina's stomach. After only a second, she lowered herself back onto Regina's lap and felt the brunette squeeze her backside with a possessive grip.

Both women moaned into the kiss.

Regina turned her head and broke the kiss with a sigh.

“You're too good at that,” Regina softly said in a somewhat raspy voice.

“That's always a good sign things are going well, right,” Emma teased before she leaned in and tried to kiss Regina again.

Regina reached up from Emma's backside to the bottom of Emma's shirt. She yanked the blonde back before their lips could touch and stared into green eyes. Something familiar tugged once at her heart, a great and unseen force Regina had come to know as a magnetic pull.

Emma stared back at her with confusion that soon turned into a lost puppy expression.

“Did I...do something wrong,” Emma sadly asked, worried the answer would be yes.

“No,” Regina quickly refuted with a shake of her head. “No, my dear. You're perfect.”

Emma frowned then lowered her gaze from chocolate brown eyes to plump red lips.

Regina faltered as she subconsciously parted her lips before she and Emma both leaned in. They met halfway and their lips melted together in a passionate, hungry kiss.

Emma proudly smiled into the kiss and caused Regina to disapprovingly groan.

Regina's hand snaked around from Emma's backside and hooked her fingers into the front of Emma's pants. Her knuckles grazed Emma's skin beneath the blonde's undergarment.

Emma gasped and unintentionally broke the kiss during her moment of surprise. She tightly gripped Regina's shoulder with her empty hand as the other still grasped the glass of cider.

“Regina,” Emma whispered.

“Too much,” Regina asked as she started to pull back her hand.

Emma shook her head and gulped as she grabbed Regina's wrist. She guided Regina's hand back to her pants.

“Just keep it there,” Emma said before she leaned in and chastely kissed Regina before she continued. “Don't move it any lower.”

“As you wish, Princess,” Regina purred as her eyes fell from green eyes to pink lips.

Emma watched Regina's gaze fall to her mouth then crashed their lips together. She moaned and found herself slowly rocking her hips.

Regina moaned in appreciation and clawed at Emma's pants. She tugged at them and pulled them south but not off. Her other hand slid up Emma's side and scratched Emma's ribs under the peasant top.

Emma bit Regina's bottom lip.

Regina let out an elongated moan and slid her hand from Emma's ribs to her back. With one hand still clutched around the front of Emma's pants, she slid her hand down Emma's spine and it disappeared beneath Emma's pants and underwear over her backside. She cupped one of Emma's cheeks as the blonde continued to grind against her lap.

Emma bit Regina's lip harder as she blindly reached out and felt her way around the bedside table with the glass of cider. After a few clumsy, unsuccessful moments she safely set the glass down on the tray then brought her other hand back to Regina's neck.

Regina dug her nails into Emma's backside in response. She pushed her hand further down the front of Emma's pants. One of her knuckles brushed against Emma's clit.

A surprised moan escaped Emma as she clenched her thighs around Regina's hips and released the brunette's bottom lip.

“Sorry,” Regina said. “You make it hard not to touch you.”

Emma panted as she closed her eyes and rested her forehead against Regina's.

“It's good,” Emma breathlessly said. “It feels good.”

“That's... I'm glad,” Regina grinned.

“But I think we should stop.”

“Right,” Regina reluctantly accepted. “I understand.”

Regina pulled away, their foreheads no longer touching, and nodded. She removed both her hands from Emma's pants and took a few deep breaths to collect herself. She reached up and tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind Emma's ear.

“You're okay?”

Regina had asked the question with notable concern in her voice.

Emma smiled and nodded.

“I'm okay.”

Regina smiled back.

“Good. Shall we get back to supper?”

Emma looked over at the plates for a moment before she reached over and grabbed an apple slice. She brought it up to Regina's lips and the two of them locked eyes for a few seconds before Regina bit off half of the thin slice.

Emma ate the other half as she stayed in Regina's lap. She reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a spoon. She dipped it into a bowl of soup on the tray and carefully lifted it to her mouth for a taste. Some of the soup left the spoon and trickled down her chin and throat.

As Emma pulled the spoon out of her mouth, Regina hooked a finger under Emma's chin and made the blonde look up toward the ceiling. She leaned in and licked up the running droplet of soup from Emma's throat to the source of the spill: her lips. Regina flicked the tip of her tongue over Emma's bottom lip then gave the blonde space as she moved away.

“I don't think I'm ready, but you make me think I'm ready enough,” Emma admitted.

Regina flashed a smirk that quickly disappeared.

“I'm flattered,” Regina started as she became serious. “But when the time comes for us to be intimate you'll know. Right now isn't the right time.”

“When will be the right time?”

“Soon enough.”

Emma slowly smiled at the familiar words before she traced over the impression she made of Regina's bottom lip.

“I bit you kind of hard, didn't I,” Emma asked.

“Not enough to make me bleed.”

“Did I hurt you?”

“No, my dear. I liked it. That's why I couldn't keep my hands where you wanted them.”

“So I helped again,” Emma stated rather than asked, an almost mischievous smirk on her face.

Regina lustfully grinned.

“In a way.”

Emma met Regina's gaze and the two of them remained transfixed on each other.

“Has your mother taught you how to plait your hair,” Regina asked after a moment.

“Yes, but I'm afraid neither of us is much good at it,” Emma answered.

“May I plait it for you?”

Emma shrugged.

“Why not? Maybe I'll learn the right way to do it.”

Regina smiled.

“If I'm teaching you, I'll make sure you learn the right way.”

Emma lightly laughed.

“But that's only if you want to learn and you should want to learn.”

“Well, I do,” Emma's smile spread.

“That's my kind of princess,” Regina grinned before she placed a hand on the back of Emma's neck and pulled her in for a kiss.

The kiss didn't last too long, but it served almost as a moment frozen in time with the way it lingered.

“Come on,” Regina said after she separated herself from Emma's lips.

Regina patted Emma's backside with her left hand as she brought her right hand down from Emma's neck to the mattress.

Emma took the hint and got off Regina. She stood beside the bed and helped the brunette to her feet.

“In front of the mirror so I can show you,” Regina motioned toward the vanity across the room.

Emma sat in the well cushioned chair with a half back.

Regina quickly took her place behind the chair and ran her fingers through long blonde tresses before she pulled them toward her, over the back of the chair.

The light, gentle touches of Regina's fingers in her hair nearly sent shivers down Emma's spine. She slowly closed her eyes as she relaxed and reveled in the feeling.

Regina grinned as she chuckled and started to comb through Emma's hair.

“It's hard to learn with your eyes closed,” Regina said and caused Emma's eyes to shoot open.

Emma looked at Regina through her reflection and sheepishly smiled when the two of them locked eyes in the mirror.

“I'm focused,” Emma assured her.

“We'll see how focused you are when I'm done,” Regina said as she began separating Emma's hair into three sections.

“Your Majesty,” Emma started with feigned shock as she placed a hand over her heart. “Are you suggesting you'll be a distraction throughout all this?”

Regina's grin turned ravenous and wicked before she leaned in. Her lips brushed against the shell of Emma's ear as she spoke.

“That is entirely up to you,” she slowly purred as she kept her eyes on Emma's in the mirror.

Emma subconsciously licked her lips as her eyes fell from Regina's down to the brunette's kiss swollen and bitten bottom lip.

Regina lowly chuckled, the sound deep from her throat as it reached Emma's ears. She moved forward a little and barely turned her head before she pecked Emma on the cheek.

Emma's eyes never left Regina's lips throughout the action. When Regina pulled back after the kiss, Emma looked into her eyes again.

Regina winked at her.

“You liked marking me,” Regina stated, no room for argument. “You're much more than I thought you'd grow up to be.”

“How's that?”

“You like control as much as I do. You know the only reason you're mother is as tough as she is now is because I drove her out of the palace for several years after her father was killed. If she'd stayed in the palace, if her father had lived, she would be a passive little princess that never would have met her True Love and you wouldn't exist. As much suffering as I put that girl through, you would think she'd at least thank me for giving her the happy ending she wanted.”

“I don't think she sees it that way since you currently have me in your possession and have done nothing but try and keep her and my father apart in the past. Not to mention, you tried to have her killed by the Huntsman while she was on the run. You tried to have her killed numerous times, in fact. And you never meant for her to find my father.”

“Are you starting to loose faith in me, my darling,” Regina asked as she started to weave the three separate strands together in an intricate braid.

“I'm only giving you my parents' perspective. I still refuse to believe you're as evil as they all say.”

“And who is 'all'?”

“The entire kingdom. Ugh, even some of the princes I dated would tell me to stop talking about you.”

“You talked about me on your dates?”

“Well, yeah. I was...enthralled with the stories my mother told me. As dark as she made you sound, I was always interested in you.”

Regina pursed her lips to contain her pleased grin, though Emma still noticed. Her pursed lips didn't contain much.

Emma brushed the sleeve of her top off her shoulder. She made more skin appear as she watched the brunette train brown eyes on the crook of her neck.

Regina's hands stilled in Emma's hair as she stared down at newly exposed skin.

“Mark me,” Emma ordered as she stared straight at Regina in the mirror.

Regina's eyes snapped up to the mirror and instantly met a green gaze.

“You're not my prisoner anymore, are you,” Regina stated.

“No, but I don't think I ever was.”

“So what does that make you?”

Emma made sure she kept Regina's eyes on hers before she answered.

“Yours.”

Regina's heart beat strong enough against her chest she thought it would burst out of her.

“How is it you know exactly what to say,” Regina shook her head before she kissed the crook of Emma's neck.

Regina's first kiss quickly became a second then third kiss and her tongue slid out to lick Emma's neck between red lips. She kept her fingers in Emma's hair mid-braid as she nipped at soft skin. One hand dropped from Emma's hair after Regina put all three strands in her left hand. Her right hand slid down Emma's right side over the peasant top. She gripped the hem of the top when she reached Emma's hip and clenched her fist around the thin, flowing material. She raked her nails up to Emma's right breast then eased up on the top as she flattened out her palm and ran it across Emma's breast. She cupped it as her index finger glided over Emma's concealed nipple.

Emma reached back and tightened her right fist around Regina's hair as she watched the brunette touch her in the mirror. She titled her head to the left to give Regina more access to her neck.

Regina didn't hesitate to accept the invitation. She made a trail of wet kisses up her neck to the spot under Emma's ear then came back down leaving tiny bite marks she kissed after she made each one. Once her lips fell back onto Emma's pulse point, she gently bit down. She sucked at the bite mark then bit again before she repeated the process. Her tongue danced over the teeth marks she left in Emma's skin before she continued to bite then suck and repeat a second time.

Regina curled her index finger and scraped her nail over Emma's nipple.

Emma clenched her legs together as she whimpered and bit her bottom lip. She could feel a warmth between her legs as she aggressively held Regina in place at her neck with her hand in brunette hair.

“Oh, no,” Emma frowned as she felt her panties dampen, her grip still strong in Regina's hair.

Regina stopped biting and stilled her hand over Emma's breast to observe the blonde in the mirror.

“What's wrong?”

“Um, I kind of...” Emma trailed off as she looked down at her lap. “I mean, I didn't do...that, but it's... I'm...wet down there.”

A look of relief crossed Regina's face before she smiled and laughed.

“Not to worry,” Regina started as she slid her hand down Emma's stomach.

Regina stopped herself and kept her hand above the waistline of Emma's pants.

“May I,” Regina asked as she looked into the reflection of Emma's eyes.

Emma looked innocent and small as she stayed quiet in the chair, her eyes wide open as they stared back at Regina in the mirror.

“I promise I'm just going to feel,” Regina assured.

Emma gulped then took a deep breath and blinked for the first time in almost a minute. She nodded in reply.

“You have to open your legs for me,” Regina said.

Without making Regina ask for permission, Emma spread her legs.

Regina didn't speak as she slid her hand inside Emma's pants and underwear. She ran two fingers through Emma's folds and felt Emma's slickness.

Emma's breath hitched as she raised a leg and rested a booted foot on the edge of the vanity. She leaned against the back of the chair and clawed at Regina's right arm, the arm responsible for the other woman's hand being in her pants.

Regina closed her eyes as she rested her forehead against Emma's hair and closed her fist around blonde tresses. She forgot about the braid as she felt Emma, physically ready for her.

“I've never...” Emma struggled to speak as she closed her eyes and dug her nails further into Regina's arm. “I've never felt like this before. You...you make me want this.”

Regina moaned as she slowly moved her fingers lower. Her fingertips reached Emma's tight opening. She stopped them above the place she wanted to be more than other place in the world, a new realization for her.

Emma felt the warmth return and more wetness engulfed her panties. She opened her eyes and stared at Regina through the mirror. The brunette's eyes were still closed. Emma turned her head to try and look at Regina without the mirror's assistance.

The turn of Emma's head caused Regina to open her eyes and pull away to give the blonde room to move. A couple seconds later, she stared into big green eyes. She could see tears forming in them.

Regina nodded in understanding as Emma's expression silently communicated for her the things the younger woman couldn't vocalize. She leaned forward and kissed Emma's cheek then her lips. She kissed Emma's lips again and again as tears of her own started to fill her closed eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter to hold them back, but it only made it easier for them to fall. A couple tears streamed down her cheeks as she kissed Emma a forth time. She choked back a sob from holding in her tears too long before she kissed Emma a fifth time then removed her hand from Emma's pants. She took a deep breath that sounded ragged as she pulled away from Emma. When she opened her eyes, she saw the unshed tears in Emma's after the blonde opened her eyes to look up at the brunette.

“Regina?”

Regina forced a smile that Emma knew held no sincerity.

“Sorry,” Regina quickly apologized as she let go of Emma's hair and used her left hand to wipe away her tears. “I shouldn't have-”

Regina stopped herself short and looked down at her right hand, her index and middle finger coated with a sample size of Emma's taste.

“I promise I'll give myself to you,” Emma spoke up.

Regina looked Emma in the eyes when she heard the blonde's response.

“No,” she firmly said as she recognized Emma's need to make things better, to promise she'd be the one to fix things. It was something Regina did to please her own disappointed mother. “No, no, no. This isn't your fault.”

“But you're crying.”

“I realized something. That's all. Something that made me sad.”

“Me, right? I made you sad?”

Regina shook her head.

“No. Emma, there's nothing you can do to make me sad,” Regina assured the blonde as she ran the back of her left hand down Emma's cheek.

“You're crying because I said no,” Emma frowned.

“Of course not,” Regina said as she gathered herself, her tears kept at bay as the strength in her voice returned. “You repeat this to anyone and you'll only live to regret it. ...I would wait the rest of my life for you to say yes. I'm going to wait as long as I have to for you to be ready. Can you accept that? It's the best answer I can give you and I promise you it's the truth.”

Emma studied Regina before she nodded.

Regina slowly smiled before she spoke.

“You really are too kind to me.”

“You can make it up to me by continuing to teach me how to braid my hair,” Emma smiled.

“I can start with that,” Regina said as she ran a hand through the neglected and destroyed braid. “I can settle my debt entirely by giving you at least one riding lesson.”

“Really,” Emma excitedly asked.

Regina ran a hand down Emma's cheek.

“Yes...but there's something I must do first before that happens.”

“What?”

Regina smiled as she held back a laugh.

“Well, I haven't finished with your hair.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“Liar.”

“It's not a lie. That's the truth.”

“It's a truth. There's something else you have to do before giving me a riding lesson and you're not telling me.”

“A woman can't have a little mystery about her?”

“You can. I wasn't asking you to share. I just wanted to let you know that I can tell when you're lying,” Emma said as she stood up and closed the little space between them.

Emma went in to kiss Regina on the lips again, but Regina pulled away before their lips could touch.

“Come on, Your Majesty,” Emma teased with a small giggle. “Let me kiss you.”

Regina frowned.

“Regina, come on,” Emma quickly said, not really begging, as she ran her hands up and down both Regina's arms. “I'll be good to you.”

Regina rested her forehead against Emma's and smiled as she released a sigh.

“You...will be the death of me yet,” Regina said before she brought her lips to Emma's.

Emma immediately kissed her back and took control. She initiated the second kiss and made sure it lingered as they parted.

“Then at least you'll have a chance of dying happy,” Emma joked.

Somehow I think that holds some truth, Regina thought as she ran the pad of her thumb down Emma's cheek.


	7. Chapter 7

Regina adoringly smiled at Emma in the mirror as she weaved together the braid she'd previously abandoned.

"Turn your head more, dear," Regina lightly laughed as she took the three strands of hair in one hand.

She gently pushed Emma's chin with two fingers from her free hand to turn the blonde's head for her.

"You'll never learn if you can't see what I'm doing."

"I can feel what you're doing," Emma replied as she locked eyes with Regina through the mirror.

"Nevertheless," Regina started after a moment. "All braids are different. You should watch to see how this one is done."

"Can I braid your hair when you're done with mine? I want to see if I can do it."

"You may, my dear," Regina said as she focused her attention on blonde tresses.

Emma watched Regina's fingers work through her hair and design a simple yet somehow elegant braid.

"Did you teach my mother how to plait hair," Emma curiously asked.

"If I said yes then it would reflect poorly on my skills as a teacher since you have informed me of her inability to do it."

Emma smiled.

"So you tried to teach her," Emma stated instead of asked.

"Yes," Regina flatly answered as she kept her attention on blonde hair.

"What was it like? For you. To live with my mother?"

Regina sighed as the question awoke memories she long tried, and had been successful, to forget.

"Bearable...for a while. She was only twelve when I moved into the palace. As she got older, she became more of a nuisance."

"Will you tell me about your time at the palace?"

Regina looked up to meet Emma's eyes in the mirror.

"Anything specific you wish for me to disclose?"

"I know most of your time there must have been painful and I'm sure you wouldn't want to relive it so...whatever you are willing to share."

Regina took a deep breath and smiled only when she relaxed as she looked at Emma's hair.

"Would you like to hear a story about your mother as a child?"

Emma slowly beamed.

"Yes, please," Emma said as she looked at Regina through the mirror, though Regina hadn't yet returned her gaze that time.

Regina gave a small laugh almost under her breath and found the younger woman's eyes in the mirror.

"Very well. Your mother was no more than thirteen years when she came running to me about a problem. I really didn't have the heart to deal with her as the night before hadn't been too pleasant for me."

Just as Regina finished her sentence, Emma cringed at the implication in the brunette's words.

"But she was in a panic," Regina continued before she noticed the look on Emma's face.

Regina soothingly ran a hand down Emma's arm in response to Emma's expression.

"Worry not, my princess," Regina warmly smiled. "That part of my life is over and I stand here as strong as ever today. Your grandfather wasn't the first person to hurt me, but hopefully he is the last...not including the monster who taught me magic."

Emma nodded after a moment and Regina took it as her cue to continue with the story.

"Your mother was in a panic," Regina repeated. "She insisted I go outside with her. She pulled me along until we stopped in front of this injured bird."

Emma scrunched up her face at the sudden oddity of the story.

Regina smiled.

"I looked much the same when I saw the creature. Nevertheless, your mother demanded I help nurse the bird back to health. She assumed it had other birds to fly off to, a family or friends of some sort."

"I know my mother likes animals, I just didn't think she was that...charismatic about their welfare."

Regina chuckled.

"Yes, well, she wouldn't leave me alone until I brought the bird into the palace. I spent four days trying to fix the bird's wing while I fed it water and seeds. The King, your grandfather, spent much time with Snow after we took the bird in so naturally it became my responsibility."

Emma happily smiled at Regina's tone during the last admission of the brunette's sentence. 

Regina never wanted to see that smile fade, it seemed innocent and almost childlike. It lit up the entire room and warmed Regina's cold, blackened heart.

"We couldn't let the King know there was a bird inside the palace so we had to hide it. Each day we had to find a new hiding spot too. The King would somehow end up only inches away from where we kept the bird, oblivious but still too close for comfort.

"Before your mother would go to bed each night, she would join me with the bird. She would ask to feed it then wondered how we could make its' wing better. I had no idea how to fix it."

"You didn't have magic then?"

"I was still learning," Regina broke away from her story to answer the princess' question.

"Did you help the bird?"

"We did what we could. On the third night, I was convinced the bird wouldn't make it to see the morning. Your mother cried and cried. She didn't want the bird to die alone. She didn't want it to die at all. She thought it was suffering and she wouldn't let go of me."

Emma's smile faded.

"I took your mother to her bed chamber and tried to get her to sleep, but she wouldn't be left. I stayed with her until she fell asleep, still in tears and sniffling when she finally did."

Emma turned in the chair and stared up at Regina.

Regina warmly smiled down at her as she stilled her hands in near golden tresses.

"The King almost woke her up as he yelled out for me. The oaf. Before I could get back to the bird, I had to service his less dire needs."

"I'm sorry," Emma quickly and softy said as she abruptly stopped Regina.

"It's not your fault, dear. I shouldn't even mention such things to you. He was your family after all."

"I don't consider anyone as thoughtless and cruel as him to be my family. For all my grandfather did to you, I'm glad he's dead."

"I've been just as thoughtless and cruel in my day," Regina informed her.

"Have you forced yourself onto someone like he forced himself onto you," Emma angrily asked as though she knew the answer would be no.

"Once," Regina reluctantly admitted.

"Really," Emma asked, shocked though not entirely disgusted.

"The Huntsman. I took something from him and with it, I was able to bed him."

Emma frowned as she stared down into her lap. She avoided the brunette's gaze for several moments of silence.

Regina patiently waited, though Emma's expected response saddened her. After a short while, Regina lifted Emma's chin with one hand and made the blonde look up at her.

"I no longer find myself in his company. Not in that way, at least. There were only a few nights here and there over the last couple decades, none of those nights recent. Sometimes he would anger me and I would be...hungry so I would force him to do things."

"What did you take from him?"

Regina sighed and knew that if she told Emma the truth, the princess would surely be disappointed. If she lied, Emma would most likely find out and things would be much worse. If she didn't say anything, it would upset Emma past the point of future reasoning. So she took a chance on the princess.

"His heart."

Another silence fell between them. That one was far longer and twice as uncomfortable than the previous one.

Regina kept a hand in the unfinished braid and knelt before the blonde.

"I promise you I no longer use him in such a capacity."

"But you still have his heart," Emma flatly said.

Regina reached up with her free hand and lightly pressed her fingertips to Emma's chest, above the blonde's heart.

Emma flinched and shrunk away from the touch at first.

Regina frowned, but didn't dare pull away.

"I won't hurt you, my dear," Regina soothingly spoke as she ran her fingertips less than an inch down Emma's skin.

Regina slowly pulled down the neckline of the peasant top as she moved her fingers further down Emma's breast.

Emma's breath remained surprisingly steady. She never took her eyes off Regina's fingers.

Regina shifted on her knees before she leaned forward.

Emma's eyes flicked up to meet the brunette's chocolate brown pair seconds before Regina's eyes closed and her plump lips pressed against Emma's fair skin. Emma's eyes fluttered closed as she allowed Regina to kiss her chest.

"May I keep mine," Emma quietly asked after a moment, Regina's lips still on her chest.

The question slowly worked its way through Regina's mind before she pulled away and stared up into desperate and sleepy eyes.

"Of course, my dear. This," Regina started with a small smile as she tapped a finger where she kissed Emma's chest. "Is where I like your heart and where it shall always remain."

Emma placed her hand over Regina's and laced their fingers. She brought their joined hands to her lap and slid forward in the chair. She leaned in and hooked two fingers under Regina's chin. She lifted Regina's head more and kissed the brunette. When she broke the kiss, she smiled at Regina.

"If you wish to stay in my good graces," Emma started. "One day you shall return his heart."

Regina raised an eyebrow.

"Who died and made you Queen?"

"Nobody died," Emma grinned. "I'm just extremely confident in your feelings for me."

Regina laughed.

"What feelings?"

"Oh, that's right. The Evil Queen doesn't feel anything," Emma continued their banter. "You surely wouldn't feel this."

Emma leaned in again and kissed Regina's pulse point.

Regina hummed in response.

Emma smirked against Regina's neck as she continued to kiss her.

"My, my, Princess," Regina started in her low, sultry tone. "There may be an Evil Queen in you yet."

Emma throatily chuckled as she pulled away enough to meet Regina's gaze.

"Yet," Emma repeated the word as she casually, confidently sat back in the chair. "The Evil Queen I so desire in me says it's not time for that."

"It's not me that's denying you that," Regina said with slightly arched eyebrows and finished her sentence with pursed lips.

"You're right," Emma started as as leaned forward again. "And I'm thankful for your incredible patience."

Regina grinned.

"The day after tomorrow," Regina started. "I'd like to show you off to some...allies of mine. Would you mind terribly sitting in on an 'evil round table?'"

"I suppose that's the price I shall pay for you graciously offering to teach me magic and horseback riding."

"No, my dear," Regina placed a hand on Emma's thigh. "That is the price I pay for your kindness. Accompanying me in front of those guests will be your choice. I will not force you and I will understand should you choose to explore the palace further instead."

"I have no need to explore," Emma smiled. "I want to spend the day at your side, if you'll allow me."

"Your presence will greatly please me," Regina warmly smiled.

Emma returned the smile before she closed the space between them and sweetly, though not so innocently, kissed Regina. Soft pink lips met plump red lips with a restrained fever.

Both maintained self-control as they held back, afraid to push too far and repeat the physical rejection from earlier. After a moment, Emma broke the kiss and ran a hand through Regina's hair before she caressed the brunette's cheek.

"Now, finish this braid so I can see if I learned anything," Emma playfully demanded.

"You're starting to sound like me," Regina informed her with a grin.

"I've heard that people emulate those they admire," Emma said as Regina stood.

Emma turned back to the mirror as Regina's free hand returned to the almost completed braid.

"In this case, that might not be such a good thing for you."

"There's nothing you can do about it," Emma shrugged. "Stories of you were all I wanted to hear growing up. Even from a distance, you infected me with thoughts and dreams of you."

"Dreams, dear," Regina asked with a large dose of interest and pride.

"Wouldn't you like to know the nature of them," Emma teasingly evaded the question.

Regina chuckled and finished the braid without much other conversation between them. They remained in a comfortable silence when Regina hadn't offered tips and tricks on how to design different types of braids or hadn't shared her personal technique with the blonde.

After several moments, the two of them switched places and Emma stood behind the chair, ready to braid Regina's soft, long brunette hair. During her transition from the chair to her feet, she noticed for the first time since she woke the absence of something in the room.

Emma furrowed her brow as she looked over toward the far corner while she started to separate Regina's hair into three strands.

"Problem?"

Emma snapped her eyes back to the mirror and met Regina's gaze.

"Maybe," Emma answered. "Where is the cage?"

"During your recovery I wanted you to be comfortable. I kept you in my bed with me and found no need for the cage. Do you wish for me to conjure it again?"

"No," Emma answered all too quickly. "That is, if I still have a place of comfort to sleep."

"I have a few spare bed chambers, but I'm not sure I can trust you to stay here at the palace."

"You confessed that you stole a man's heart and used him to sate your sexual hunger. I'm still here, aren't I?"

Regina smiled.

"That much is true. Although, I don't trust easily."

"Did I not help keep my parents from attacking you or your palace?"

Regina's smile turned into a darkly satisfied grin.

"You really don't want to spend another night in the cage, do you," Regina stated instead of asked.

"I may have fallen asleep in a tree once or twice in my life, but that cage is awfully unsettling. I do believe my muscles are still in pain from such a strained sleeping position the first couple of nights I spent in there."

"I suppose there is a compromise for our situation."

Emma silently questioned Regina with a single puzzled expression.

"You could share my bed with me by choice," Regina offered. "If after a few nights I believe you will not run from me or the palace, I'll allow you to occupy one of the spare chambers if you wish."

Emma beamed.

"I would be honored. ...But keep your hands to yourself," Emma jokingly warned.

"I make no promises, my princess."

Emma only smiled in response then returned her focus to Regina's hair.

The sun had long set by the time Emma had finished braiding Regina's hair. As the Queen assessed her own hair in the mirror, she smiled.

"You've done much more than expected," Regina complimented the princess.

Emma beamed.

"I'm happy to have pleased you."

"I wonder what else you can learn and in such a short amount of time," Regina flirtatiously smirked.

Emma only grinned.

Regina knew Emma wouldn't say anything else and went on with the conversation.

"Ready for bed, dear?"

"Will you tell me what happened to the bird my mother wanted you to save?"

Regina smiled.

"Not much of a story left, but yes. I suppose I could tell you a bedtime story."

Emma lightly laughed and the two of them crossed the room.

Regina claimed her side of the bed, the side Emma had woken up on, and pulled down the covers.

Emma noticed the change in sides and quizzically furrowed her brow.

"Did you give up your side of the bed for me," Emma asked.

"Think nothing of it. I couldn't hold you very long and when I brought us back here, we were on my side of the bed. It was only fair punishment that I let you occupy my side since I couldn't bother to bring us in here on the other side of the bed."

"You let me sleep on your side of the bed," Emma beamed again.

Regina tried not to smile at Emma's admiring tone and blissful expression. The smallest and truest of smiles appeared on her face nevertheless.

"Would you like to find out what happened to the bird?"

Emma nodded though she knew the question was rhetorical.

"Then keep your my mouth shut and get into bed," Regina demanded, though without much demand at all.

Emma crawled into the bed with a smile. She settled in as Regina slid under the covers.

"Did the bird live," Emma asked as Regina adjusted in the bed to get comfortable.

"After your mother and the King were asleep," Regina resumed her story. "I went to check on the bird. It didn't look well, but I did everything I could. I even made this splint from twigs I found in the yard."

Emma looked riveted as she stared at Regina.

"I spent all my time and energy that night trying to get it to eat and fell asleep in a chair in doing so. It wasn't until things looked grim that I wanted nothing more than to be able to fix it."

Emma frowned.

Regina continued to tell the story at a distance as if she were reliving that part of her life.

"But I made my peace. In fact, I thought the bird was lucky. It would never have to suffer another day in this miserable world."

Emma reached out and ran a finger over the scar on Regina's upper lip.

The touch pulled Regina out of her sadness. She looked over at Emma and half-smiled as she took the blonde's hand in hers.

"Your life was miserable, wasn't it," Emma said, though she feared she already knew the answer.

"There were plenty of bad days," Regina confessed.

"And you let the bird die, right? So it wouldn't have to struggle anymore, like you?"

Regina shook her head.

"I fell asleep watching the bird as it inched away from me. It wanted to be left alone, in the corner and not bothered. I empathized and fell asleep in the chair next to the end table I had the bird on."

"So what happened to the bird?"

"Impatient, are we?"

"I'm sorry. It's just... You're the bird. I have to know what happened to the bird."

Regina's smile warmed.

"I woke up early the next morning, but not by choice," Regina resumed the story. "When I opened my eyes, the bird was edging itself toward the tip of the table. I waited to see what it would do and..."

Emma hung on Regina's every word at that point.

Regina could see Emma's fixation. She didn't deviate from the story because of it. She knew the blonde desperately wanted her to finish the story and she wouldn't keep it from the princess.

"It flew," Regina said.

Emma smiled.

"It didn't fly far, but it landed safely on the ground. It pecked at my feet and I knew. I knew it wanted to leave.

"I ran to your mother's bed chamber and insisted she see what became of the bird. We came back to the bird and I removed the splint I put on its broken wing. We watched it flap its wings a few times and then it flew to the window. It had a little trouble, but the bird made it."

Emma lit up a little at the small triumph.

"Your mother opened the window and after a minute or two, it left. I watched it sore through the sky, chirping as it lived to see another sunrise. I saw it fly into a day not filled with pain or uncertainty as time ticked away."

"You fought for your life," Emma said with a smile.

"As I lay here telling you this story, did you have your doubts," Regina asked with a laugh.

Emma rolled her eyes.

"I decided I would live another day," Regina said as she smiled at Emma.

She reached out and caressed Emma's cheek. She rubbed the pad of her thumb across fair skin as her smile faded.

"That same day I started planning my escape from the palace," Regina confessed.

"Why do you look so sad?"

"It was the day I started...to plot the King's death."

Emma looked as dejected and sad as Regina.

"Are you upset," Regina worriedly asked.

Emma shook her head.

"It's just... That was the day."

Regina furrowed her brow, lost as to what Emma meant.

“That was the day you became the Evil Queen."

It was Regina's turn to shake her head.

"I was the Evil Queen before that day. That day I just decided to go down with a fight."

"Go down?"

"I never thought I would live this long. There were many times when my life was threatened. There were many times when I thought, 'It's finally over.'"

Emma frowned with what appeared to be watery eyes. She leaned in and kissed Regina.

"If you hadn't survived," Emma started after she broke the kiss. "I wouldn't have ever met you and that...that would be a fate worse than being locked away behind a magical barrier for half of my life."

Regina smiled, an expression she could get used to again if it meant Emma would cause it.

"Sleep now, my dear," Regina said as she brushed away a stray strand of Emma's hair. "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Regina," Emma warmly smiled.

"Goodnight, my dear Emma," Regina mirrored the blonde's smile.

***      *      ***

Regina woke as the morning light streamed in through the extravagant curtains that shielded the balcony from view. She felt a warmth beside her, something she hadn't felt in years and even then it hadn't felt as right or natural. She slowly and carefully turned to see Emma loosely clinging to her side.

Emma's hand was casually draped over Regina's waist while her head peacefully rested on Regina's upper stomach, just below her chest.

It was an odd position, but with no conscious witnesses Regina smiled at the sight. She turned toward Emma, but not enough to cause the blonde to stir. She lifted her arm and reached over to brush long tresses out of the princess' face. She stared at Emma for a long moment before she slipped out of bed undetected.

With a flick of the wrist, Regina dressed herself and turned back to Emma. She walked over to the other side of the bed and leaned over. She kissed Emma on the cheek and tried not to focus on the feeling in her chest that made her sad about leaving the blonde alone.

She sauntered out of her room, ever the queen, and called for the Huntsman.

He rushed to serve her.

"Your Majesty?"

"Keep an eye on the princess," Regina ordered. "Don't let her out of your sight. I'll be back in a short while."

"Would you like to keep her in your chambers," he asked.

"No. If she wants to walk around the palace, let her. She may go outside, but you shall not let her venture off. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," he gave a single nod and looked down at the floor.

"Good. Tell the kitchen staff to prepare their finest tonight. Let them know dinner will be a little later than usual, once the moon is out."

The Huntsman nodded again and Regina took her leave.

***     *     ***

Regina had but one horse since Daniel's death and kept it in the stall farthest from his grave. She had thought about conjuring a new stable, one closer to her palace and away from such tragic and heartbreaking memories, but it almost felt like she would be cheating on her love by doing so. Instead, she decided since she'd only have the one horse anyway, she would honor Daniel's memory and keep the horse at the stables she loved and hated all the same. That also provided her with the painful reminder of why she'd turned to magic and how she'd become the Evil Queen. If she ever lost sight of herself, one look at Daniel's grave would turn her eyes as coal black as her heart and she would live to fight another day.

However, she had a riding companion in Emma and still only one horse. As much fun as it would be to teach the princess how to ride by having the blonde's hands around her waist, it would do neither of them any good. Regina would be distracted and far too tempted and Emma would not learn how to ride independently. No, she needed another horse and she knew just where to get one.

Using the one horse she did have, Regina rode across the land like the free spirited girl she used to be and not at all like a queen let alone a lady.

She had forgone riding clothes and opted for something more Evil Queen like, however. Her wardrobe housed several pairs of leather pants, another pair in which she wore as she rushed through one wooded area or another. She didn't like to wear her leather pants consecutively, but she had no use for long dresses or skirts while riding. With her pants, she wore a a black corset with purple lacing up the front and sides along with black boots fit for most occasions.

The sun had risen high in the sky though not quite directly overhead yet when Regina arrived at familiar stables on the outskirts of the kingdom. She slowed the horse's sprint to a gentle trot before she stopped in front of the not-so-pleasant looking stable. She dismounted the horse and tied the reigns to the single post outside the stable doors.

She stepped inside and took a look around at a few pure bred horses and a few more that weren't before a neighing horse alerted her to someone else's presence. She went to the stall with the fidgeting horse and smiled a genuine smile at it. She reached out and held her hand in front of the horse's eyes. Once the horse dipped its head as a sign of trust, she stroked the horse's nose.

"That's it," Regina cooed. "You're okay."

A grunt followed by a grumble came from beside the horse under the cover of the stall door. A man peeked out from scrapping the horse's back left hoof and smiled at the sight of the brunette woman on the other side of the stall.

"The Evil Queen returns," the man greeted. "And looking as magnificent as ever."

"Thank you," Regina grinned. "You look as handsome as the day I took that Mustang off your hands."

"Aw, you're too kind," the brown haired man not a day over forty said. "Are you in the market for another black beauty like your Mustang?"

"I am in the market, but not for a Mustang."

"What can I offer you then? An Arabian purebred or an American warmblood perhaps?"

"Actually, an American Quarter Horse would be preferable."

"Ah. A good choice, as usual. I just so happen to have one. A mare. I hope that's okay with you."

"It's fine. Show her to me."

The man pocketed his scraper and opened the stall door.

Regina took a step back to give him space to open the stall and closed it for him. She smiled at the horse she got to trust her and ran her hand down its nose again before she and the man crossed the room to another stall.

"Here she is," the man proudly stated. "This is Rita."

"A rare name."

"It's more than rare. It means brave. She has the heart of a champion, but she's shy and tender. Almost innocent."

"Does she trust easily?"

"Yes and no. Show her your heart and she'll forever be loyal, but only if you're good-natured."

"Hmm. That may be a problem. She won't trust me and I need to take her back to my palace."

"Are you rehabilitating your beloved stable?"

"No. I'm teaching a young woman to ride. The horse will be hers."

"How is her heart," the man asked as he ran his hand down Rita's side.

"Pure. Warm."

"Then Rita will surely be loyal to her and she'll be a good horse to learn to ride on as well."

"Will she at least follow with me to my palace? Allow me to hold her reigns?"

"Only one way to find out," the man said before he opened the stall door and led Rita outside.

***     *     ***

Emma woke to the bright, late morning sun that poured in through the partially open drape curtain that blocked the balcony from view. She rolled onto her stomach and reached out to Regina's side of the bed only to find it empty. She frowned and propped herself up on her forearms.

"Regina?"

She called out to the room to no avail and looked around for any sign of the Queen. Nothing.

"Regina."

Emma worried she'd done something wrong the night before, asked too many questions, or maybe she wasn't Regina's after all like she thought. Maybe Regina still saw her as property. Maybe she was wrong to put her trust in the Queen, the Evil Queen that still held a grudge against her mother of all people.

Emma decided to look for Regina throughout the palace and headed out of the bed chamber in search for the brunette. On her way to the kitchen, her attention directed behind her as she walked forward, she ran straight into a strong and well-armored man.

"My apologizes," Emma quickly said to the man.

She looked up to see the man remove his helmet and scraggly brown hair and an unshaven beard appeared.

"It's alright, Princess," the man said.

Emma furrowed her brow as she looked him over.

"Do I know you?"

"Your first night here I interrupted the Queen in her bed chambers. I'm the Huntsman."

"That's right," Emma said as realization and memory hit her. "The Huntsman. Uh, do you know where Regina - I mean, the Queen - is?"

"Her Majesty is out. She said you could walk around the palace, even venture outside."

"Oh," Emma said with an expression of disappointment.

The Huntsman caught sight of it and quizzically stared at the blonde. He looked her over for another moment before he spoke again.

“Would you like to go for a walk? Outside perhaps,” he asked. He didn't like to see the look on Emma's face.

If the Huntsman was correct, the blonde who stood before him was not only a princess, but the one and only princess the kingdom was in an uproar about trying to get back. She was the daughter of Snow White, the daughter of the Queen's enemy.

“Actually, I'd like breakfast first,” Emma said. “If you don't mind coming down to the kitchen with me.”

The Huntsman smiled. He may have lost his heart in order to save the princess' mother, but he'd be damned if he'd let an already granted favor keep him from protecting the girl. The Evil Queen could not have her. Not on his watch.

“Of course, Princess.”

***     *     ***

Regina rode back to her palace at a slower pace than previously set on her way to the out-of-the-way stable. Beside her own horse, Rita sped to keep up with a woman she wasn't sure she liked. Regina held onto Rita's reigns along with her own Mustang's reigns as she tried not to waste time.

It was well into the afternoon when Regina placed Rita in a stall at her own stables, the stables that held one too many memories to secure her sanity. Every time she set foot on the property, her heart ached for long bursts of time as she crumbled under the reminder of what she lost there. Every time she left the stable, her heart grew colder and harder than before, which always surprised Regina, but didn't deter her from coming back.

After she locked Rita in one of the many empty stalls, she tied her Mustang to the post between Rita's stall and the empty one beside it before she walked out to Daniel's grave.

She knelt in front of it and reached out with a sad expression on her face. She traced the heart on his grave with her fingertips and allowed the pain to wash over her like a wave of misery she knew all too well.

"Forgive me, Daniel," Regina spoke to the grave.

She lowered her hand into her lap and took a deep breath. As she released it, she reached into the small pocket embroidered into her lace corset and pulled out the ring she always carried with her.

"If I am to marry you...then let's do this properly."

Regina had watched him yank the ring off his own bag as they stood in the stables. With that ring, as he slid it onto her finger, he promised her a life of freedom, a life of love, a life of happiness, a life of feeling appreciated, a life of being cherished and considered, a life to be put before anyone else or used for political needs, a life to be herself and be with the one she loved.

She stared at the ring and after a moment, the inside glowed and an image of Daniel, the way she remembered him, appeared. He looked kind and soulful. His status didn't matter and his memory, as it was held in the glowing ring, showed his loyalty and his courage. He stood up for their love to Cora on that treacherous night and though his face the moment her mother ripped his heart out haunted her, she remembered him as the bold man that captured her heart and made her feel loved, made her feel wanted. Something her mother failed to make her feel. Something she struggled to see her father try to make her feel.

"I still love you," Regina told the image of Daniel as a tear streamed down her cheek. "I will always love you. But Emma..."

Regina trailed off as she thought about the blonde. She couldn't find it in her to smile, not when faced with the memory of Daniel.

The image faded and she placed the ring back in her pocket. She continued to talk to the grave.

"It's not something I think I can explain. In fact, I know I can't. She just smiles and nothing else matters."

Regina laughed.

"Not even her mother Snow White. It's funny how my enemy becomes irrelevant when I look at Emma."

Regina sniffled and wiped away a tear before it could stain her cheek. She reached out again and placed her palm flat on the heart.

"I'm bringing her back here with me. I think it's about time, my love."

Regina stood and stared down at the grave for a moment longer before she got back on her Mustang and wasted no time getting back to her palace.

The sun was at its highest in the sky as she made her return trip, thoughts of touching Emma on the way back to stables fresh in her mind as she rode home. The more time she spent away from the princess that day, the more she realized how much she'd be willing to suffer in terms of self-restraint. She wanted to feel the blonde's hands on her hips or around her waist, the younger woman's chest pressed against her back while Emma's inner thighs hugged her outer thighs.

She didn't have to occupy her mind with fantasy any longer when she rode up to the palace entrance and made it reality. In the Huntsman's company, Emma sat in a tree off to the side. Her hair draped over the branch she laid on and her tresses flowed in the breeze. As Regina looked at her, she thought how she'd never seen as much sunlight at her palace as she had while Emma was around.

"Are you ready for your lesson, my dear," Regina called out to the blonde.

Emma twisted her body at the hips to see Regina standing by a black horse. She flashed a small smile and climbed down from the tree. She nodded to the Huntsman in acknowledgment and a silent thank you as she made her way to Regina.

"Where were you," Emma asked.

"I told you had something to take care of before your lesson. Did you miss me?"

Regina smiled as she asked Emma that question. She hoped the answer was yes because she certainly missed Emma.

"I'd kiss you, but we have an audience," Emma said as she took Regina's hand in hers and laced their fingers.

Regina looked over Emma's shoulder at the Huntsman. Regina could tell he was watching them, but he tried not to be obvious. He failed.

She grinned and looked at Emma again.

"I don't mind," Regina said as she stepped toward Emma and closed the small distance between them.

Their lips met in a lingering kiss that lasted several long seconds.

The corners of Emma's mouth curled into smile the longer the two of them spent locked in a kiss. When they separated, she continued to smile as she opened her eyes.

"You must be proud of me to do that," Emma said.

"I am proud of you," Regina started. "But I don't need to be proud to do that in front of him."

"Do you have to be proud to kiss me again," Emma asked with a smile and a flicker of hope in her eyes.

Regina smirked and leaned in again. She wrapped her arm around Emma's waist and held the other woman flush against her. She slid her tongue across Emma's bottom lip for entry and didn't have to wait long for access.

Emma appreciatively hummed into the kiss as she wrapped her arms around Regina's neck. She pulled Regina closer and surprised herself and the brunette that it was even possible for her to do so.

Regina kept her hands from wandering and broke the kiss. She'd have plenty of time to feel Emma on the ride to the stables.

“You never answered my question,” Regina said as she continued to hold Emma close after the kiss. “Are you ready for your lesson?”

“Yes,” Emma beamed.

“I left you a surprise at the stables. You'll have to ride with me there before we can start your lesson,” Regina informed her.

“Okay.”

“Do you at least know how to get on a horse?”

“I do, but that doesn't mean I'll be successful,” Emma lightly laughed.

Regina smiled and watched Emma walk up to the Mustang's side. She stood close enough to Emma in case the blonde needed her help as the princess stuck one foot in the stir-up.

Emma grabbed hold of the saddle and hoisted herself straight up then tossed her leg over the horse. She pulled herself completely onto the saddle and struggled to sit comfortably, but she did manage to get on the horse.

Regina stared at Emma as the blonde fidgeted on the saddle and almost laughed at the cuteness of her effort. Of course, since Emma got on the horse first Regina would have to get behind her. All new fantasies traveled through her mind at the simple sight of Emma on her Mustang. She shook the thoughts free and joined Emma on the horse.

“Don't forget, Huntsman,” Regina called to the man. “Dinner will be later than usual tonight. Let the cook know.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the Huntsman responded with a single nod.

He disdainfully watched the Queen wrap her arms around Emma and take the reigns. Emma, by order of the brunette, placed her hands on the Queen's and Regina guided the horse away from the palace.

Emma giggled as the horse started a slow trek toward the stables. She knew Regina only had the Mustang go slow for her benefit and the thought alone caused her to smile. The rest of her giddiness could only be blamed on Regina's actions as she purposely squeezed her thighs around Emma's.

Regina felt Emma lean back into her and smiled. She almost rested her chin on the crook of Emma's neck but instead kept her head in the general area, careful not to hit herself in the face due to the rocky ride the horse on uneven ground provided. She did, however, settle for a kiss on Emma's neck. One kiss on the blonde's pulse point followed by another and then a moan.

“Unless you plan on teaching me how to ride something other than a horse, I suggest you stop before we get ahead of ourselves,” Emma said with a smile.

Though Regina couldn't see the smile, she heard it in Emma's voice. She lightly laughed in reply.

“Don't give me ideas, dear,” Regina purred in Emma's ear before she nipped at her earlobe.

“Maybe I should,” Emma said as she turned her head to look over her shoulder at Regina.

Regina wickedly grinned then directed her attention at the surrounding area to ensure they made it to the stables without falling off the horse.

“Only if you're prepared for me to attack you. Get me started and I might not stop,” Regina warned.

Emma closed her eyes and relaxed further into Regina.

“I think I'll stay committed to horseback riding for the time being,” Emma admitted, eyes still closed.

Regina throatily chuckled and pulled her head away from Emma's neck.

“Okay. But if you change your mind, I'm great at multitasking,” Regina smirked and slowly reached up under Emma's shirt.

Regina cupped Emma's breast and received a long moan that sounded nothing like the sweet and innocent Emma she knew.

“I may be patient, Emma,” Regina purred again. “But I know there's not one other person on this Earth I want to touch as much as you. The day you let me in will be the day I will never forget.”

***     *     ***

Regina rode her horse into the stables and stopped just within the entrance. She ran her hands up and down Emma's outer thighs with a grin.

“Ready for your surprise?”

Emma's eyes slipped closed and she released the reigns. She moved her hands to cover Regina's as the brunette massaged her upper thighs, but she didn't stop her.

“Depends on the surprise,” Emma replied.

Still on the horse, Regina brought her hands to the top of Emma's pants and started to undo them.

Emma bit her lip and felt a newly developed heat between her legs. She leaned her full weight on Regina's front and rested her hands on Regina's thighs as she spread her legs. Her heart raced with anticipation and her body screamed to be touched.

Regina reached into Emma's pants and felt the younger woman's sex over her panties. Her own wetness started to pool between her legs as she felt Emma's arousal. She groaned and buried her face in Emma's neck. She stayed in that position for a while with her hand cupped over Emma's center, her face hidden in blonde tresses. Finally, she lifted her head to speak but kept her hand in place.

“This isn't your surprise,” Regina said with a husky, gravelly voice.

“I still like it,” Emma said just above a whisper.

Regina squeezed her eyes shut tight and fought the urge to continue as her fingertips inched closer to Emma's opening.

“Do it,” Emma begged.

Regina usually didn't have to be told twice, but a familiar tug at her heart told her to wait. She stopped her descent and removed her hand from Emma's pants.

Emma groaned as she felt the loss of contact her body ached for even before Regina pulled away.

“You stopped this time,” Emma pointed out.

“I know,” Regina said. “But you wanted a riding lesson and I'll give you one. ...You have no idea how hard it is for me to be here.”

“Then give me an idea.”

Regina dismounted the horse like the longtime rider she was and held out a hand to Emma.

“Come on,” Regina avoided Emma's request. “I want to give you your surprise.”

Emma stared down at Regina as she herself remained on the horse. She could see the pain in Regina's eyes as the brunette tried to hide her emotions. In that moment, she gave Regina privacy and took the brunette's hand.

Emma threw her leg over the horse's head and sat side saddle before she hopped off the horse and into Regina's arms.

Regina caught Emma with her body as the blonde staggered into her. As she held Emma's hand with one of her own, she wrapped an arm around Emma's waist to steady the other woman as their bodies collided flush against each other. She lightly laughed as she held Emma close and stopped their swaying.

Emma smiled.

“We'll work on your landing,” Regina teased as she held Emma away from herself to look at her.

Emma's smile spread and a blush crept across her cheeks.

Regina kept Emma's hand in hers and led the blonde toward the far stall. She stopped in front of the stall and looked at the horse Rita before she looked at Emma for her reaction.

Rita stood against the back wall of her stall gnawing on hay.

Emma looked over the horse and stared at it in confusion. The horse seemed calm with its head down while it enjoyed a meal, but she didn't understand the surprise yet.

“This is Rita,” Regina introduced her to the horse.

“Is she...mine,” Emma asked and hoped she didn't sound too self-centered to think that.

“Yes,” Regina smiled as she took pleasure in Emma's timidness and puzzlement.

Emma's face gradually lit up before she turned to Regina and beamed.

“You bought me a horse?!”

“Well, I wasn't going to let you take mine out for your first ride,” Regina said with dark, glittering eyes.

Before Regina could gauge another one of Emma's expressions in terms of happiness, the blonde lunged at her. Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's neck and crashed their lips together in a heated kiss.

Regina got over the initial shock of the unexpected act and slowly wrapped her arms around Emma's waist. She held the blonde close and kissed back with as much intensity as she received. Within a few moments, she slipped her tongue out and flicked Emma's upper lip to silently ask for permission to enter.

Emma discretely slid her tongue between Regina's parted red lips and glided over the other woman's slick pink tongue in response.

Regina moaned into the kiss and her senses kick started straight into overdrive. She squeezed Emma further against her and their bodies almost melted into one. A fever wave flooded her system and she spun Emma away from the horse's stall. She pinned the princess against the nearby wall of the stables and pressed a hand against the wall while the other pushed against Emma's left hip. Without warning or hesitation, she clawed at Emma's shirt and every time the blonde arched her back to bring herself closer to Regina, the brunette pushed her hard against the wall. Her nails raked down Emma's shirt to the blonde's undone pants. She pulled the pants down to Emma's thigh on the left side only and slid her knee between Emma's legs.

Emma moaned and pressed her center down onto Regina's knee. Her hands went from being around Regina's neck to ravenously clawing at Regina's shoulders and biceps.

Their teeth gnashed several times as their kiss intensified more and more with each touch. Their bodies arched toward and brushed against each other. Their hands roamed and their hair tangled as brunette locks and blonde tresses fell everywhere around their shoulders and heaving chests.

Suddenly, the magnetic pull returned to Regina. At the same time she felt drawn to and desperate for Emma, the magnetic feeling pulled Regina away from Emma more than it pulled her to the blonde in that moment.

Regina pushed off the wall with the one hand she kept pressed to it and backed away several feet from the princess. She panted as she lifted her left hand, the one that worked to get into Emma's pants only seconds prior, to her mouth. She swiped her thumb under her bottom lip and brushed her index finger across the top of her upper lip to clear away smudged lipstick.

Emma breathed as erratically as Regina, her eyes locked on the brunette with shock and bewilderment in them.

“Did I do something wrong,” Emma asked.

Regina shook her head as she struggled to catch her breath.

“No, I'm stopping us again,” Regina told her.

“Why?”

“This isn't how it's going to happen. Today isn't the day you'll let me in and certainly not over a horse.”

Emma thought about Regina's statement and after a moment or two, she knew it to be the truth. She also recognized a hidden truth within the same statement.

“It might not be the day I let you in,” Emma started as she slowly stepped toward Regina. “But maybe it's the day you let me in.”

“Emma-”

“I want you.”

Regina paused as she looked over Emma. She saw the sincerity in the younger woman's words deeply conveyed in emerald green eyes only darkened by desire.

“If you're not ready to be touched by someone, what makes you think you're ready to touch someone?”

“You don't know how well or how tragically I can ride a horse and yet, you ran out and bought me one. You let me roam the palace and today you even let me go outside. Even though I was guarded, I still felt free to do as I pleased and I've only been at your palace a few days. You say you don't trust easily, but no one has ever trusted me the way you have. That is how I know I'm ready to touch you.”

Emma reached out and took Regina's hand in hers.

Regina looked down at their joined hands then back up into green eyes.

Emma led Regina out the back end of the stables and searched the surrounding area for somewhere to get comfortable. All she saw were hay bales and grass. Just as she started to give up, way too soon, she remembered she had magic. She didn't know much about it and couldn't do much with it, but she at least knew the principles.

Emma closed her eyes and focused. She thought about what she needed and when she opened her eyes, a puff of red smoke appeared. When it cleared, a blanket of the same color covered a good portion of the grass in front of them.

Regina grinned when she saw it and closed the space between them. She wrapped her arms around Emma's waist from behind and embraced the blonde.

“That's my girl,” Regina purred in her ear.

“I'm only as good as you made me,” Emma complimented the brunette as she rested her arms over top of Regina's.

After a moment of silent understanding between the two of them, Emma spoke again.

“Um...” Emma trailed off, obviously nervous. “It might help if I...hear sounds of encouragement or something? I want to know I'm doing what you want.”

Regina grinned.

“I promise you'll know when I like something, but I have a question. May I be on top?”

Emma blushed like an awkward teenager.

“Yes, please,” Emma replied.

Regina switched their positions and led Emma to the blanket. She walked backward until she felt the grass turn into wool. She spun them around again and held Emma's hand as the blonde lowered herself onto the blanket.

Emma remained in a sitting position as she looked up at Regina who stood standing. She let go of Regina's hand and basked in the sight of Regina above her.

Regina looked around and made sure no one could see her other than Emma. With no one else around, she reached behind herself and untied the purple lace that held together her corset. She maintained eye contact with the princess and finished the last of the lace. She removed her corset and allowed Emma to look at her bare breasts and taut stomach.

Emma bit her bottom lip as she stared.

Regina let go of the corset and it fell onto the edge of the blanket. She eased out of her pants and left them where they landed around her ankles as she stepped out of them. She knelt in front of Emma and placed her hands on the princess' knees.

Emma leaned back on her hands and slowly opened her legs for Regina.

“No,” Regina soothingly said.

Regina guided Emma's legs flat against the blanket and moved up the other woman's body before she straddled Emma's hips.

“It's okay to lay back,” Regina softly said.

Emma slowly laid back and some of her hair cascaded around her face and shoulders, most of it trapped between her shoulder blades under her back.

“May I see you,” Regina asked.

Emma nodded and tangled her hair against the blanket as she did.

Regina pushed the hem of Emma's shirt up her stomach and to her chest.

Emma gasped when Regina grazed her breasts.

Regina froze and didn't raise the shirt any further.

“Is this okay,” Regina asked as she kept her hands still on Emma's body and stared into the blonde's eyes.

“Yes,” Emma answered.

Regina slid her hands to Emma's sides and brushed the sides of Emma's breasts as she lifted the shirt above her chest.

Emma curled the top half of her body toward Regina to free her shirt from her own weight.

Regina removed the shirt and gracefully tossed it aside in the same direction as her corset.

Emma laid back again and watched as Regina followed her down.

Regina passionately, slowly kissed Emma. She placed her hands on either side of Emma's head and started a slow grind against Emma's lower abdomen.

Emma whimpered into the kiss as she felt the friction on her stomach.

Regina opened her mouth wider in a silent moan at not only the sound of Emma's whimper but the vibration against her lips.

“I'll try to go as slow as you need, but,” Regina started as her lips brushed against Emma with every word she spoke. “I may go a little fast for you. Okay?”

“Mhmm,” Emma hummed as she placed her hand on the back of Regina's neck and pressed plump lips against her own not-so-full lips for another kiss.

With her free hand, Emma grazed her palm over one of Regina's breasts. When the heel of her palm brushed up against Regina's nipple, Emma felt Regina's moan before she heard it. She ran her hand down Regina's breast and swiped the pad of her thumb over Regina's nipple.

Regina hummed and picked up her pace against Emma's lower abdomen.

Emma brought her other hand down and mirrored her actions for Regina's neglected nipple.

Regina broke the kiss as she tore her lips away from Emma's and pressed her sex down on Emma's stomach.

Emma felt a warmth not entirely her own on her stomach before she felt a wetness to it. Emma stared up at Regina and noticed she kept her eyes squeezed tight as though she were fighting something.

Emma replaced a hand on Regina's breast with her tongue as she teasingly flicked Regina's nipple.

Regina whimpered, her face contorted into an expression of desperation.

“More,” Regina rasped out.

Emma looked up at Regina, her eyes still closed, as she hesitated. After a moment, she slowly ran the flat of her tongue over Regina's nipple then swirled it in a circle around the hardened nub. She made circles with the pad of her thumb over Regina's other nipple and heard the brunette moan as a reward.

Emma slid her right hand down Regina's side and stopped at Regina's hip. Her hand moved with every roll of Regina's hips as the other woman continued to grind against her stomach. She waited until she picked up on the rhythm before she slid her hand between Regina's thighs.

Regina's eyes shot open as she felt Emma's fingers hit her clit. She lifted her sex a few inches off Emma's body to give the blonde access.

Emma trapped Regina's nipple between her lips and sucked on it while she changed the direction of her circles from counterclockwise to clockwise over the other.

Regina moaned louder and silenced herself as she pulled her breast away from Emma's mouth and crashed their lips together in a fiery kiss.

Emma unintentionally slowed every one of her ministrations and caused Regina to take action.

Regina continued to kiss Emma as she took Emma's right hand in hers. She guided Emma's fingers over and around her own clit and broke the kiss to nip at the younger woman's neck.

After a few moments, Regina's lips, tongue, and teeth unrelenting against her neck, she slid her fingers past Regina's clit until they briefly, teasingly dipped into Regina.

Regina bit harder on impulse as Emma failed to be where she needed her. She didn't blame Emma, of course, but she needed more.

Emma groaned in slight pain then turned her head toward Regina in an attempt to stop her from biting.

Regina felt Emma smother her, trap her head between Emma's head and shoulders, and retracted her teeth from fair skin.

Emma rolled her head away from Regina and opened her eyes as she looked up at the sky above them.

Regina pulled away from Emma's neck and blocked the blonde's view.

Emma adjusted focus and stared straight up at the brunette.

Regina rolled her hips forward with an overly charismatic thrust and forced two of Emma's fingers inside herself. She never took her eyes off Emma throughout the action. She wanted to hold back the small scream of pleasure she felt the movement deserved, but she knew Emma wanted to know what she did right. Regina let the small scream leave her lips as she pulled away from Emma's fingers then slid down onto them again.

“Just like that,” Regina struggled to say with erratic breathing and a soft voice.

Emma followed Regina's logic and remembered the rhythm from earlier when she had a hand on Regina's hip. She moved her fingers in and out of Regina at the same pace while the other woman continued to roll her hips.

Emma bit her lip as she felt herself inside Regina. She broke eye contact with Regina as she closed her eyes and bucked her hips toward the brunette.

“My dear,” Regina called to Emma in a near whisper. “Look at me.”

Emma took a few ragged breaths before she opened her eyes.

Regina smiled down at Emma before she felt the younger woman curl her fingers on an inward thrust.

“Oh,” Regina breathed out in exclamation. “You're doing so well.”

Emma slowly smiled at the compliment as she watched Regina meet her halfway in movements. She pushed forward, into Regina, while Regina slid onto her fingers the rest of the way. Her knuckles disappeared within Regina every other thrust. Then a new feeling hit Emma.

Regina's walls started to clench around Emma's fingers.

“I'm...so...close,” Regina said between breaths.

“What else can I do,” Emma asked.

Regina moved and brought her nipple, the one unaffected by Emma's tongue, to the woman's lips.

Emma understood and licked Regina's nipple before she took it completely into her hot mouth.

Regina emitted a long moan and refused to silence it. She panted a few more times as she felt herself losing control. She couldn't hold on much longer nor did she want to. Though she'd had the Huntsman in her bed, twenty-eight years was a long time to wait to feel like Emma made her feel. The blonde barely knew what she was doing and yet, she filled Regina with much more pleasure than the brunette thought she could ever feel.

Regina reached between her own legs and rubbed circles over her clit several times before she let go.

“Emma,” Regina moaned as she reached her release.

Both women felt a rush of wet warmth pool between Regina's legs as the brunette slowed her pace against Emma's fingers.

Emma followed Regina's lead and slowed down, but she didn't stop until Regina puffed out a contented sigh and almost collapsed on top of her. Though she stopped, she didn't remove her fingers.

Regina took a minute to collect herself before she reached down and grabbed Emma's wrist. She started to help Emma pull her coated fingers out of herself, but the blonde stopped her with a single word.

“Please.”

Regina's eyes hurried to find Emma's and the two of them stared at each other in silence.

“Just a few more minutes,” Emma finally asked.

Regina smirked and leaned in for a breathless kiss. She relaxed onto Emma and allowed the woman to keep her fingers where they resided.

“A few more minutes,” Regina agreed as she rested her head on the front of Emma's shoulder. “Then we begin your riding lesson.”

Emma grinned.

“Horseback riding,” Regina quickly clarified as she sensed the blonde's grin.

Emma lightly laughed.

“Best day of my life,” Emma confessed.

A smile slowly appeared on Regina's face.

“Tell me I can do this every day,” Emma said.

Regina chuckled.

“You can do this when I say you can do this.”

“And when do you think the next time I'll  be able to do this will be?”

“That is undetermined.”

Emma frowned.

Regina picked up on the woman's saddened mood though she couldn't see Emma's face.

“But a job well done, my dear,” Regina purred with a grin.

Emma smugly smiled.

Regina took the opportunity to kiss her way down Emma's chest until she reached one of Emma's nipples. She flicked the tip of her tongue over it then looked up at Emma to see her reaction.

Emma's breath hitched and she looked down at Regina.

“You're welcome,” Regina said with a grin.

Emma furrowed her brow.

“For what?”

“The horse.”

Emma slowly smirked.

“I heard your thank you loud and clear,” Regina continued before she pushed down on Emma's fingers again to emphasize her point.

Emma lightly laughed.

“Don't expect me to satisfy you like this every time you give me something nice,” Emma teased.

Regina throatily chuckled then began to suck on Emma's nipple.

Emma's eyes fluttered closed and she gave herself a moment to revel in the feeling. When she opened her eyes, she brushed her thumb over Regina's clit and moved her fingers around inside the other woman.

Regina moaned against Emma's breast and almost started another rhythm with her hips before she grabbed Emma's wrist and slowly removed Emma's fingers from herself. At the same time, she pulled her mouth away from Emma's nipple with a pop and grinned down at Emma with a devious gleam in her eyes.

“Get me started again and things may get rough,” Regina warned.

“Hmm. I'll keep that in mind.”

Emma brought her coated fingers to her lips and kept them less than an inch away when she stared straight into darkened brown eyes.

“Let's see how you really taste.”


	8. Chapter 8

She was right.

Emma smiled as she sucked on her coated fingers a second time, still underneath Regina on the red blanket outside the stables.

Regina remained motionless on top of Emma's hips with a slack jaw as she watched the younger woman taste her.

“Not at all an acquired taste,” Emma grinned as she brought her cleaned fingers back to Regina's center.

Regina moaned as she fell forward, her breasts inches away from Emma's lips once again, when Emma ran her fingers through her wetness.

“Am I the only thing you've had to eat today,” Regina huskily asked as she looked down into green eyes.

Emma hummed as she continued to grin up at Regina. She pulled back her hand, her fingers coated once again, and licked one finger before she took it completely into her mouth. She began to suck it clean when Regina's eyes darkened and she leaned in.

Regina mirrored Emma's action and licked Emma's other finger before she sucked it clean at the same time the blonde cleaned the one in her own mouth.

Emma arched her back and pressed her covered center against Regina's partially exposed center. She placed her free hand on one of Regina's bare thighs as she moaned at the feel of Regina's hot mouth on her finger.

Emma's hand fell away from both their mouths and Regina leaned in further. She captured Emma's soft lips in a slow yet heated kiss and tasted herself on Emma's tongue. She hummed into the blonde's mouth moments before she broke the kiss and pulled back to lock eyes with the younger woman.

“There may be use for you yet, Princess,” Regina grinned down at Emma before she screwed up her face in confusion.

“Have you ever pleased another woman before?”

Emma shook her head and tangled her hair against the blanket under her.

“No. Just myself. Have you?”

“One. Although, it was only a few times and it wasn't all that good so I wouldn't really count it as such.”

“Who?”

“An old friend of mine. Her name is Maleficent.”

“And you two are not...?”

Regina shook her head with a small smile.

“No, my dear. We never were together and we're no longer friends.”

“May I ask what happened between you?”

“I turned her into a dragon to get the dark curse back from her. She would not relinquish it so...I felt it was only fair she suffer.”

“Then I am on your side. She should have given it back to you. I'm not sure I would have turned her into a dragon, but I understand you're frustration.”

Regina brushed the pad of her index finger down the blonde's cheek and traced her jaw line.

“You are truly amazing, my dear,” Regina complimented the woman. “It's hard for me to believe you are the product of Snow White and Prince Charming. No offense, dear, but those two idiots rarely do anything I can commend. But you... You're the one thing I actually believe they did right.”

Emma sadly smiled.

“Was I right to run away then,” Emma asked.

“Oh,” Regina frowned as she felt a pang in her chest. “You were. If you had been in my palace, under my rules, I would not confine you to the kingdom the way they had. You deserved to roam, to find happiness.”

Something struck inside Emma as suddenly she remembered a small, but key, piece of information that didn't sit right with her.

“The night of my birth, you came looking for me. What would you have done with me had you taken me then?”

“I would have raised you, I guess. That wasn't how I saw it at the time, but that is more or less what I would have done. The only thing I cared about was your mother's unhappiness. It would have killed her to see you with me, unable to raise you or even hold you.”

“'Would have',” Emma asked. “As if to imply you no longer feel that way?”

“I still wish your mother a great deal of unhappiness. It's why she'll fight me for you. She's more of a pacifist when it comes to certain things, though.”

Emma nodded.

“Yes, she uses her words more than anything else. Not to say she isn't strong. Although, compared to you...”

Regina grinned.

“Why thank you, my dear.”

“I really don't want to talk about my mother right now, though,” Emma said as she scanned her eyes over Regina's mostly bare body.

“Of course,” Regina curly nodded. “We should really get to your lesson anyway.”

Emma watched Regina push off the ground and onto her feet. She stared up at Regina's body in all its glory.

Regina adjusted her underwear and fluffed out her hair before she grabbed her clothes and redressed.

“You're beautiful,” Emma said. “You know that?”

Regina didn't know what to say. She stood, speechless, as she unnecessarily smoothed out her bodice.

Emma noted it was probably a nervous habit. Regina tended to do such a thing to ensure she always looked her best.

 _Can't have a queen look like the commoners,_ Emma mused as she attempted to channel Regina's thought process and reason.

“Thank you,” Regina quietly said.

She took a minute before she stepped closer to Emma again. She extended her hand to the blonde in offering.

Emma smiled and took it.

Regina pulled Emma to her feet.

“Ready for your lesson?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

***     *     ***

Emma landed with a thud and a grunt as the air immediately left her lungs.

Rita whinnied and trotted in a victorious circle as she haughtily shook her mane at Emma.

Regina chuckled atop her own steed.

“She must trust you before you can ride her,” Regina explained.

Emma, flat on her stomach as she laid face down in the dirt, looked up at the Queen.

“We are still talking about the horse, yes,” Emma asked.

Regina wickedly grinned.

“In this case, yes. But it can be said about _people_ too. You trusted me enough to do such a thing.”

Emma's cheeks flushed a rosy pink.

“Up,” Regina commanded.

Emma slowly got to her feet, ungraceful and covered in dirt.

“Clearly, this is going to take longer than I thought.”

“Longer as in more than one lesson?”

“Perhaps. I did buy you a horse. I expect you to use it, but I will not allow you to ride without supervision until I feel you're ready.”

Emma dusted herself off.

“Yes, Regina.”

“Who do you see me as,” Regina asked as she realized the differences between the way Emma addressed her then and the way she'd addressed her before the lesson started.

“I see you as Regina,” Emma innocently answered.

“You do not see me as a Queen? As the _Evil_ Queen?”

“I see you as a Queen, but you are not _my_ Queen.”

Regina nodded.

“Is that a problem?”

Regina shook her head.

“No, my dear. Call me what you wish so long as it is not an insult.”

“Understood.”

“Back on the horse,” Regina ordered.

Emma turned back to Rita and raised her hand, her palm faced to the horse. She waited for the horse to slow to a stop in front of her.

Rita sniffed Emma's hand then snorted and bowed her head. She nudged Emma's hand under her nose and caused the princess to smile.

“Good,” Regina said.

Emma stroked the horse's nose a few times. She pulled her hand away and held it at a distance, still in front of Rita's eyes, but no longer rewarding.

Rita found Emma's hand with her eyes. She took a step back from Emma then remained still once in place.

Emma slowly lowered her hand down to her side and came to stand beside Rita.

“Good girl,” Emma cooed as she grabbed the saddle and stuck her foot in the stirrup.

Emma pulled herself up then swung her other leg over the horse. She looked more fluid in the action than she had when they first arrived.

“Excellent,” Regina praised with a grin, a lustful – if not proud – gleam in her sparkling brown eyes.

Regina gently tugged on her reins and made her own steed trot over to Emma and Rita.

“Shall we race,” Regina teased with a grin.

Emma sensed the tone and smirked.

“You don't think I can,” Emma stated.

“You're right, my dear. I don't.”

Emma held her head high with authority.

“Then we _shall_ race. Winner gets the other to serve them dinner like a slave this evening.”

Regina chuckled.

“Is that the deal you really want to make with me?”

“It is.”

Regina scanned her eyes over every inch of Emma as the blonde sat atop her horse.

“Then the deal is struck.”

Regina waved her hand at the forest and expelled wisps of translucent purple magic from her fingers to a space between two trees in the distance.

“Race me to the barrier there,” Regina pointed at the magical net she'd created. “And the first to make it back to the stables wins.”

“Good,” Emma nodded then took a moment to look around. “Now how do I steer?”

Regina laughed. She brought herself to Emma's side, both horses faced in the same direction. She reached over and placed a hand on Emma's wrist before she spoke.

“To guide the steed left, you pull the reigns to your right and vice versa. Although, I'm not sure if this horse was trained to follow that order. You may need to try spurs in the steed's sides.”

Emma frowned.

“I don't like that idea. I don't want to hurt the horse.”

Regina stroked the pad of her thumb over the back of Emma's hand.

“Worry not. I know the man that may have trained this horse and he prefers not to use spurs himself.”

“Good,” Emma smiled and nodded.

Regina smiled as well.

“Pull back on the reins to stop,” Regina instructed. “Think you're ready?”

“Mhmm.”

“You'll make an excellent slave,” Regina grinned.

Emma held her head high again. She looked defiant and ever the feisty, rebellious princess Regina knew her to be.

“We'll see who makes an excellent slave,” Emma replied.

“Then let's get on with it.”

Both women whipped the reins and took off toward the magical net between the trees.

Regina didn't hold back. She sped toward the net, all too practiced in horseback riding not to succeed. She looked behind her to see Emma could actually keep up. She was indeed behind, but not by much.

Emma fought to stay on the horse and bounced up and down on the saddle the faster she sped toward Regina. Nevertheless, she kept her concentration and tried to at least remain upright until she made it to the finish line.

Regina wanted to challenge the princess. The blonde had been hidden, kept away from the likes of the Evil Queen, but seemed strong enough to handle herself. Emma continued to try and prove she shouldn't have been stuck behind a barrier for so long. Regina wouldn't be the one to deny Emma a chance to prove just that.

Regina cut across the forest and jumped over a log right in front of Emma, which caused the girl to pull back on her reins and almost stop in an instant.

Regina chuckled with a devious grin and a wicked gleam in her eyes.

Emma deeply exhaled through her nose and set her jaw. She sharply glared at Regina and tightened her grip on the reins. She whipped the reins and clicked her teeth to get Rita to take off toward the magical net again. More determined than ever, Emma charged after Regina and around the log.

Regina could taste her own magic in the back of her throat as she approached the cascading waves of purple magic. She could see the magical net almost in her reach. Then, out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Emma.

Regina dropped her haw in surprise before she curled her lips into another grin.

Emma bit her bottom lip as she focused much harder than before. She commanded her steed with the reins and tried to reenact Regina's previous move. She cut across the forest and passed right in front of the Queen. She nearly collided with Regina's Mustang as she barely moved faster than the brunette. She didn't seem to notice, however, that she'd almost crashed into Regina.

Regina noticed all too well, though, and fiercely pulled back on her reins to prevent the accident. She came to an almost complete stop and watched as Emma burst through the magical net.

Purple engulfed the blonde as it washed over her like rain. She briefly basked in the glow it provided her and turned her horse around to face the stables.

Regina slowly trotted past the place her magic once marked and saw Emma sprint off with Rita toward the stables, a wide and bright smile on her face. She briefly smiled at the sight, but it faded as she too turned and followed Emma back to the stables.

 _I may have underestimated you_ , Regina thought as she raced even faster toward the no longer existent net.

She whipped the reins and brought her Mustang up to speed. Within several seconds, she was hot on Emma's heels. She kept the blonde in her sight, her focus primarily on the princess the closer she got to riding side by side with her.

Emma zeroed in on the sables, her focus solely set on her final destination. But it wasn't about where she was going, it was about what getting there would give her. A chance to rule over the Queen even for only a night was a prize she desperately wanted to claim.

That wasn't an option for Regina.

The Queen had spent years under everyone else's thumbs. Her mother, the King, Rumpelstiltskin. She had finally achieved power and for once in her life, she had control. As proud as it would make her to see Emma succeed, she refused to let anyone dominate her like she had been for far too long.

Regina pushed her steed to go as fast as he could once the forest broke apart to reveal the stables. It didn't take long before she got the blonde's attention, both of them equal with each other yet again.

She grinned at Emma, victorious.

Emma parted her lips in a silent gasp as Regina's expression conveyed the events to come within the next few seconds.

Her defeat.

Regina pushed her steed more than she'd ever pushed him in years. She knew he'd need a few days to recuperate after the exhausting race, but it would be worth it. Just as the horse started to huff in complaint of overexertion, Regina reached out a hand and tapped the side of the stable in passing before she slowed her horse to a stop.

Emma frowned as she slowed her horse as well, but didn't stop until she reached the side of the stable Regina had touched.

Regina chuckled as she turned around and trotted back to Emma.

“You did well, my dear,” Regina said as her chuckle subsided. “But I'm afraid I was always going to be the one to win.”

Emma looked down at her hands as she continued to clutch the reins. She couldn't look at Regina, afraid of what her loss truly cost her.

Regina recognized the sadness and slight worry in Emma's expression. She stopped her steed in front of Emma and dismounted. She walked over to the princess and rested a hand on Emma's left thigh as the younger woman remained on her horse.

“Fear not, dear. You may act as a slave tonight, but I will do nothing to harm or hurry you.”

Emma looked over and down at Regina before the brunette continued.

“I will not take from you what you do not offer.”

She removed her hand from Emma's thigh and held out both hands to spot Emma.

Emma took the hint and threw one leg over the horse before she slid down its side and joined Regina with two feet firmly planted on the ground.

Regina placed her hands on Emma's hips and held the blonde against her, the princess' back flush against her front.

“Will you humiliate me,” Emma timidly asked.

“What would you have done to me had you won?”

Emma slowly smiled.

Regina quickly found her smile to be infectious as she herself mirrored the expression.

“I would have made you bring food up to the bed chamber and serve me every bite.”

“Really?”

The question sounded more like a statement while Regina's tone suggested amusement.

Emma nodded and continued.

“I would have made you address me as 'Your Highness' and bow down to me. Then I'd make you dance for me and I'd decide whether or not I would touch you depending on how well you performed.”

Regina's eyes darkened with desire as she smirked and bit her bottom lip. She remained behind Emma and lowered her gaze to fair colored flesh concealed by blonde tresses draped over her shoulder.

“Anything else,” Regina asked as she leaned in and brushed away a few tresses with her nose before she gently bit down on Emma's neck.

“I'd make you beg for me to touch you. Even if I'm not good at pleasing you, you could guide me to give you the satisfaction you crave. That is what I'd make you beg for.”

Regina moaned against Emma's neck as she began to place wet kisses on it.

The vibration it caused traveled from Emma's pulse point to between her legs. She clenched her thighs together in an attempt to ward off her desire.

“You are definitely not as innocent as I thought,” Regina purred before she began to suck the blonde's pulse point between kisses. “But you are mistaken.”

Emma placed her hands over Regina's on her hips and clawed at them. The action laced their fingers and forced Regina to tightly grip at the blonde's hips.

“How am I mistaken,” Emma breathlessly asked.

Regina devilishly grinned a moment before she leaned in and kissed below Emma's jawline.

Emma sharply inhaled then softly whimpered.

“You _are_ good at pleasing me,” Regina finally said.

Emma bit her bottom lip and felt Regina slide their left hands up to Emma's breast and squeezed, their right hands still on her hip.

A groan tumbled from Emma's parted pink lips as she tilted her head back and rested it on Regina's shoulder.

Regina swiftly turned her own head and pecked Emma on the cheek as she released the woman from her hold.

“Shall I teach you more or shall we ride back to the palace,” Regina asked.

Emma turned to Regina and placed her hands on the Queen's shoulders with a frown.

“Can we stay here a little longer,” Emma asked. “Can you teach me how to jump? Like you did when you jumped over the log and cut me off?”

Regina smiled and put her hands on Emma's hips again. She pulled Emma to her and pressed their bodies together as she held the princess.

“I can. You really wish for me to teach you that?”

“Yes,” Emma nodded. “Especially if this is to be my only lesson.”

“Very well,” Regina said with a single nod.

Emma beamed.

“But don't mistake my kindness as a way for you to get out of being my slave tonight.”

Emma's smile only brightened before she leaned in and kissed the Queen.

“Thank you,” Emma said as she continued to smile.

“Come along then, dear,” Regina said as she let go of Emma's hips only to take Emma's hand in hers.

Regina led the princess back to Rita. It only took a few steps and then held up Emma's hand toward the saddle.

“Up,” Regina ordered.

Emma did as she was told and mounted her horse.

“Now, you'll start slow.”

Regina took hold of the reins with one hand, still on foot, and led Rita into the woods. She leisurely walked away from the stables and refused to have Rita go any faster than a slow, deliberate trot.

Emma kept both her hands on the grip of the saddle. She wiggled around atop Rita with each stride the horse took.

Regina looked up at Emma and smiled as she stifled a laugh at what she saw.

“Having some trouble, Princess,” Regina teasingly asked.

Emma looked over at Regina and immediately locked eyes with her.

“Only a little,” Emma responded and tried to remain strong, in control of herself.

Regina's smile only widened moments before it faded a bit.

“Really, dear. How is it that you managed to ride the way you did just now and yet you can't sit on a horse moving less than a mile an hour?”

Emma shrugged.

“My mother said when I first learned to walk, I couldn't get more than two steps without falling on my little butt.”

Regina laughed.

“Her words, not mine,” Emma clarified before she continued. “But after a few days and _several_ bruises, I stood up and started running. Wasn't much of a run considering I was only about ten or eleven months old. It was more like hurried stomping. The point is, I never fell when I went fast.”

Regina didn't laugh that time, but she did smile. Almost fondly, in fact.

“Of course, I wouldn't know that's what it looked like, but from what my mother's told me that's how I imagined it was like.”

“You have a good imagination,” Regina said. “That is _exactly_ how I would describe it myself.”

Emma frowned and quizzically looked at Regina.

“What do you mean?”

“I saw you. It was one of the few times I saw you after the day you were born.”

“You... _saw_ me? How?”

“A magic mirror. I assume you no longer have many around the palace.”

“No, and the ones we do have are covered up. But why would _you_ think that?”

“Because after your sixth birthday I could no longer see you through any mirrors.”

“You were spying on me?”

“I wouldn't call it that. It's not as though I watched your mother change or bathe you. And I didn't keep tabs on you every waking hour.”

“Then how did you see me learning to walk?”

“I would check in on you every once in a while.”

“Why?”

“My plan was always to take you from your parents and with that ridiculous barrier in the way, I couldn't do that. So, out of curiosity, I would look in on you. However, as I said, I rarely saw you. The times I did see you, though, you were quite cute.”

“I'm not sure if that's sweet or incredibly off-putting.”

Regina smirked.

“Considering how you touched me out on that blanket I would hope you found it to be the former.”

Emma smiled.

“What else did you see?”

“Your first word, your first day of school.”

“How did you manage to see my first word?”

“On accident. I went to look in on you and there you were, playing with your stuffed bear. You kept...flinging around the arms and banging it against the floor.”

Emma smiled, happy to hear a baby story from Regina's perspective. She'd heard plenty from her parents and it was refreshing – if not enjoyable – to hear it from the Queen, a woman who didn't love her unconditionally or have to say nice things about Emma as a child. And yet, Regina seemed to smile as she told the story. Oddly enough, that warmed Emma.

“Your parents were across the room, talking about me. You were making all sorts of sounds like you wanted to say something. I sat watching you for a few minutes before you actually did say something. And when you did, I thought I'd misheard you.”

“Why?”

“You said my name.”

“What? No, I didn't. My first word was 'mother'.”

Regina shook her head.

“You looked up at the mirror and stopped blabbering long enough to listen to your parents say my name. It must have been what happened because I can't imagine how else you knew my name.”

“Then why did my mother tell me 'mother' was my first word?”

“Had it been your daughter and you were in Snow's position, would you tell her the name of your enemy – who wanted to abduct your daughter – had been her first word?”

Emma thought about it.

“Probably not,” she answered after a moment. “But...maybe they didn't hear me.”

“Oh, they did, dear. That's how I knew I hadn't heard wrong.”

_Little Emma sat on the floor of her nursery with a dark brown teddy bear with a red bow tie. She picked at the fur and flicked the arms around a few times before she lifted the entire bear and smashed it into the floor. She did it over and over again as she incoherently mumbled, her parents oblivious a good distance behind her._

“ _It's been almost two years, Snow,” Charming tried to reassure his wife. “Regina hasn't made any efforts to break through the barrier.”_

“ _That we know of,” Snow frantically insisted. “Every time I look at Emma, I think any second_ she'll _come in here and take her from us.”_

“ _You don't think that's how I feel? I do. But I also look at our daughter and every second of every day, I'm thankful for every moment spent with her knowing she could be at the Dark Palace, but she's not. She's here. With us.”_

“ _But I know Regina. Even if she hasn't tried anything yet that doesn't mean she won't. Regina said 'soon enough' the last time we saw her. She'll make good on her word. She's not one to make empty threats.”_

_Emma had been mumbling at a somewhat rapid pace when she felt a strange sensation. It was as if something called to her, not that she understood it or was even aware of it._

_Her mumbling died down as the sensation grew stronger and looked up._

_Her eyes fell upon a grand looking glass in the room that extended from floor to ceiling. She couldn't see anything other than her own reflection and the reflection of the nursery, but she felt something and then a name passed her mother's lips on the other side of the room._

_As soon as she could, Emma tried to replicate it._

“ _Re...Reg...een...Regin...ah.”_

_All conversation stopped._

_Snow and Charming's attention sharply turned to the tiny blonde, their eyes wide and mouths agape._

_Emma pouted and slammed the bear against the floor one final time before she left it pressed against the marble. She sat completely still as she looked down for a long moment._

_Snow took two unsure steps toward Emma then waited._

_Emma looked up at the mirror again and her pout turned into a plain expression. She stared for a few seconds before she spoke._

“ _Re...gin...ah,” she sounded out the name again, that time faster than the first._

_She had a little difficulty pronouncing the “g” in the Queen's name, but she could be understood._

_Immediately, Snow and Charming strode toward Emma. Snow picked up the teddy bear and tossed it aside before she scooped the girl into her arms._

“ _Emma?”_

_Snow looked down at Emma with worry and deep focus. She stared at her daughter like a woman looking for answers._

“ _Reg-ina,” Emma said, faster and more confidently._

_Snow gasped._

_Charming ran a hand over his mouth and slid it downward until he brought it back down to his side. He frustratedly sighed as he did so. His eyes looked from Emma to the mirror and back again._

“ _Her first word... Her first word is_ Regina _,” Charming asked._

_His voice rose as he said the brunette's name._

“ _You know what? I think you're right,” he started. “Regina_ is _still a threat.”_

_Snow gave a tired sigh._

“ _Just because Emma said her name doesn't make her a threat. We've been talking about Regina since the day Emma was born. She probably just picked up on it.”_

_Regina sat in a high back chair a little less regal and Queenly than the one in her throne room. She was perched forward with much interest and intrigue as she heard her own name voiced by the young princess not once, but three times. It was with struggle and pause and not exactly completed all three times, but it had been said._

_Surprise overtook the Queen's features as the reality of it set in and emerald green eyes locked onto hers through the mirror._

_Emma squirmed in Snow's arms and turned to the mirror. She didn't say anything, just stared. She felt a strange energy and refused to look anywhere else but at the reflective surface._

_Regina did the same. She kept her chocolate brown eyes trained on the mirror as she looked at the little girl, her wispy blonde hair finally past her ears. Her short hair curled at the tips around her slightly rosy cheeks._

_Whatever Emma unknowingly felt, Regina felt it too. Though the Queen was indeed aware of it unlike the young girl._

“You did say 'mother' the next time you spoke,” Regina finished the story. “Snow made sure of it. She would constantly avoid using my name and repeated hers and Charming's and 'mother' and 'father' until you said one.”

“My first word was your name,” Emma slowed said as she let the words roll around in her head and spill out of her mouth.

Regina gave a single nod to confirm.

“I'm not sure I should believe you.”

“You don't have to,” Regina flatly said. “But I know what happened and I take a bit of pride in it.”

“I guess you're entitled to that.”

Regina pulled on the reins and stopped the horse a few feet from a log.

“I'd ask what else you think I'm entitled to, but then we probably wouldn't finish your lesson,” Regina grinned before she raked her eyes over Emma.

***     *     ***

Emma pecked a kiss on Regina's cheek just before the brunette's ear as she sat behind the Queen on Regina's jet black Mustang. She had her arms wrapped around Regina's waist as they casually strode back to the palace.

The Huntsman appeared at the front of the palace and tried to keep a stoic expression as he watched the princess kiss the Queen.

“Your Majesty,” the Huntsman greeted and bowed his head.

“Huntsman, take care of my steed,” Regina ordered before she turned to glance at Emma.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The blonde took a second to understand the Queen's silent request before she quietly said, “Oh” and dismounted the horse.

Though she herself was royalty, Emma held out her hand to Regina and smiled when the brunette laid her palm over top of hers. She helped Regina off the horse, though Regina didn't need it, and stood incredibly close to the brunette, but refrained from affectionately touching her. She wasn't sure the Queen wanted others to see them like that. They hadn't talked about it, but she respected Regina's authority enough to wait for her to make the first move in public – if she ever did.

Regina completely ignored the Huntsman as he did her bidding and led Emma inside.

Emma, on the other hand, looked over her shoulder at the Huntsman and flashed a small smile at him.

The Huntsman smiled back as he took the reins of Regina's horse. His smile was warmer than hers and not as brief, but when Regina turned to the princess as the blonde fell behind, his smile instantly vanished. He subtly cleared his throat and redirected his attention entirely to the horse as Regina met his gaze with a fiery glare.

Emma looked back to Regina and noticed the harsh look she shot the Huntsman. She sighed and looked disapprovingly at the brunette.

Regina's eyes slid to her left and locked onto Emma's. Her expression softened, though it was clear she didn't like the look Emma gave her.

“Let's go, Princess,” Regina commanded and swiftly spun on her heels before she made her way through the grand entrance.

Emma followed her inside. To her surprise, Regina led her into the kitchen.

“What are we doing here,” Emma asked as she looked around the room.

“Getting our dinner to go,” Regina threw over her shoulder before she stopped in front of a counter and looked at a woman preparing food.

“Cook,” Regina greeted with an authoritative tone.

The woman that prepared the food, the one being addressed, turned to Regina and immediately stilled all other movement.

“Your Majesty,” the cook bowed her head.

“Is supper ready yet,” Regina asked as the woman straightened up again.

“Yes, Your Majesty. Just finished. It's still hot, though.”

“That's fine,” Regina dismissively stated, almost bored, with a careless wave of her hand. “You can hand it over to the princess.”

Regina turned and motioned to the blonde who had stopped a few feet behind her.

The cook gave a single nod of understanding after she looked from the princess to the Queen. She reached behind her and grabbed the pan she'd set aside. She used a cloth to hold the pan by the handle and turned it so Emma could hold the handle and avoid getting burned herself.

Emma nervously smiled at the cook and took the pan. She started to move toward Regina when the woman behind the counter stopped her.

“Wait. You'll need a tray, Princess,” the cook said as she took hold of a nearby silver tray then offered it to the blonde.

Emma looked up at a smirking Regina before she sheepishly smiled and turned to accept the tray.

“Right,” Emma quietly said as she took the tray.

“And plates,” the cook continued.

Emma started to blush.

Both the cook and Regina noticed. Only the cook mentioned it.

“It's alright, Princess,” the cook started with a warm smile. “You're royalty. You're not expected to know this.”

Emma nodded. She couldn't form a single word, utterly mortified at her forgetfulness though the cook had a point. She didn't need to know the ins and outs of a kitchen or how to serve food. She was a princess. That wasn't her job. Her job was to lead the people. The fact that she looked completely incompetent, however, endlessly embarrassed her.

Emma held out the tray to the cook and watched the other woman gently set the plates on top of the smooth silver surface.

Though her blush had not intensified, it hadn't diminished at all either. As Emma stepped away from the counter and headed toward the archway between the main corridor and the kitchen, Regina stopped her.

“There are those rosy cheeks I remember,” Regina said as she reached out and held Emma's chin between her index finger and thumb.

Regina grinned as she inspected pinkish cheeks then gazed straight into emerald eyes.

Emma gulped under Regina's scrutiny.

Regina's grin widened far enough to show perfectly straight and pearly white teeth.

“Is this all of it,” Emma asked as she kept Regina's gaze with a doe-eyed expression.

Regina softly chuckled and turned her head to look at the cook, but kept Emma's chin between her fingers.

The Queen didn't have to say a word before she got the answer to her unvoiced question.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the cook supplied. “That's all of your supper.”

“Thank you,” Regina replied.

The brunette gave the cook a smile, something she rarely gave any of her staff, and turned to leave. As she turned, she released Emma's chin and strode toward the hallway. She didn't even bother to look back and ensure the blonde followed her. She just carried on as though she either trusted Emma to follow or didn't care if she kept up with her.

Emma quickly looked back at the cook and forced a smile, another nervous one, as the cook knowingly giggled at the princess' expense. She turned back toward the hallway and scurried after Regina.

Emma managed to catch up to the brunette at the landing of the grand staircase. She walked up the steps with clanging plates on a tray in one hand and a scalding hot pan in the other. She looked every bit as clumsy as her father Prince Charming, though the man had greatly improved his balance skills since Emma came into his life.

Finally, after a long minute or two of struggling her inability to walk and carry things at the same time, the princess and the queen reached Regina's bedchamber. Upon her success, Emma puffed out a sigh and accidentally blew loose strands of blonde tresses into her face. She rolled her eyes and groaned.

Regina stopped at her bed and turned to Emma, who remained just barely inside the room, close to the doorway. She chuckled at the sight of the frustrated princess and gracefully lowered herself onto the bed.

She sat at first and watched as Emma clambered over to the nightstand and set down the pan and tray. But when Emma finally took a step away from the nightstand, Regina slowly fell onto her back with a moan.

Emma bit her bottom lip as she watched the brunette slide her hands over the sheets before her back made contact with the bed.

Of course, Emma didn't get to stare too long before Regina flicked her wrist and magically changed the blonde out of her clothes and into sleepwear.

Regina didn't look at her as she did it. She just envisioned an outfit and waved her hand in the air.

Thin, purple smoke clouded Emma's figure for a few seconds until it dissipated and revealed the blonde in a silk white nightgown.

Emma looked down and examined her new wardrobe.

“This is more virginal than the gold dress you made me wear the first day I spent here,” Emma frowned as her eyes raked from her bare feet up to her chest.

She looked up completely and stared at Regina, who remained on her back with her eyes trained on the ceiling.

“A slave has no say in what their master prefers them to wear,” Regina informed her.

Emma continued to frown and looked down at her outfit once more.

After a moment, Regina turned her head to the side and curled it toward her shoulder to see the blonde from her laying position on the bed. She didn't move anything other than her neck muscles before she caught a glimpse of Emma in the flowing nightgown. She smiled.

Emma felt a pair of eyes on her and looked up again. Immediately, she met Regina's gaze.

“I like the look of innocence on you,” Regina said the second she had Emma's attention.

“I'm tired of wearing white. That's all my parents make me dress in. That or gold and _maybe_ red. I had to pester them for a while before they allowed me to wear that color.”

“Twenty-eight years is an awfully long time to wear white,” Regina said.

“I agree,” Emma said with a bit of fire in her words. “Change me again?”

Regina stayed perfectly still, aside from the rise and fall of her chest, before she sat up. Her eyes never left Emma's body as she scanned over the wardrobe selection she'd made for the blonde. Within a few moments, she came up with a solution.

Regina flicked her wrist again and another thin cloud of purple smoke covered Emma's form. When it cleared, Regina devilishly grinned at the results.

Emma looked down and noticed the obvious changes. Though it was the same length and style, a silk nightgown that stopped mid-thigh, it was thinner than the previous version. It was more transparent than it was white and her undergarments were black. She knew if she could see the faint outline of her undergarments that Regina could see them too. In that moment of realization, she looked up at the other woman.

“Less virginal for you,” Regina asked, a grin still present on her face.

Emma cocked her head to the side and glared at Regina.

Regina's grin only spread wider and Emma's displeased attitude caused the Queen to laugh.

“If that still doesn't suit you,” Regina started and flicked her wrist with less flourish than she'd previously used. “This may suffice.”

A small amount of purple smoke swirled out from underneath the gown at chest level.

Emma's eyes snapped down to the addition, or rather subtraction, to her outfit. Two dark pink nipples poked at the comfortable silk fabric, nothing about her breasts left to the imagine though not entirely exposed beyond the thin white gown.

Emma immediately crossed her arms over her chest in the shape of an “X” and gripped her biceps to conceal her alert nipples.

“I'd like something a little less revealing,” Emma stated. “All I wanted was something not white.”

“Easy, Princess,” Regina said with a smile. “Come here.”

“No.”

Regina tilted her head to the side. Her smile faded, but didn't vanish completely.

“I won. You're my slave for the night. You shall do as I say,” she commanded, though with little force.

“Not until you change me into something else. Something that meets my specifications.”

“Then that would defeat the purpose of calling you over here.”

Emma furrowed her brow, confused.

“Come here,” Regina repeated, her tone friendly and sweeter.

Emma took a deep breath then exhaled as she took the first step toward the bed. She closed the space between her and Regina and stood in front of the Queen.

Regina looked up into green eyes even though Emma's covered breasts were almost directly in her face. She reached up and gently wrapped her hands around Emma's forearms. With a little struggle, she pulled Emma's arms away from her chest and brought them down to the blonde's sides.

Emma gasped as she felt exposed all over again, just as she had the moment before she used her arms to shield her breasts.

Regina lowered her gaze from green eyes to rounded flesh slightly masked beneath the nightgown. She zeroed in on one of Emma's hardened nipples and leaned in.

Emma tried to step back, move away from Regina's touch, but the brunette quickly slid her arms around Emma's waist and kept her in place.

Regina gently raked her teeth over Emma's right breast as she closed in on the younger woman's nipple. The instant her teeth scraped against the hardened bud, Regina clamped her lips around it and sucked the nipple into her mouth.

Emma gasped again and gripped Regina's shoulders to brace herself as she arched her back and pressed her breast further into Regina's mouth. She closed her eyes and parted her lips when a silent moan that unsuccessfully attempted to be heard.

Regina tasted the silk that kept her from her prize. She didn't mind. In fact, it's exactly what she wanted. She flicked her tongue over Emma's already hardened nipple before she sucked it even further to a point. She didn't stop until she heard Emma cry out at the sensation of having her nipple feel as hard as a rock.

“Want me to continue, Princess,” Regina purred as she pulled away to lock eyes with Emma.

Emma licked her lips and gulped as she breathlessly stood in Regina's arms. The Queen's chocolate colored gaze was too intense for her so Emma averted her eyes. It was then that she realized the orange and red hues outside.

“Sunset,” Emma exclaimed.

Regina turned and noticed the sky's colors as well.

“You've never missed one,” Regina stated.

“Except the one on my first night here,” Emma said, her eyes still fixed on the view the uncovered balcony doors gave her.

Regina looked from outside back up to Emma. She saw the desire etched on her face, the desperation in her eyes, and none of it for her. The girl clearly wanted to watch the sun set and Regina couldn't really blame her since she herself always tried to watch it for the last twenty-eight years.

Regina moved her hands from around Emma's waist to the blonde's hips and pushed the princess back a few steps.

Emma looked away from the setting sun to Regina and frowned.

Regina kept her hands on Emma's hips as she stood, their bodies less than an inch apart when she got off the bed. She met concerned, possibly even sad, green eyes for a moment before she took one of Emma's hands in hers. She pulled the blonde toward the balcony and waved her unoccupied hand at the closed doors. They flew open and allowed both women to instantly feel a breeze from the evening air.

Emma let Regina lead her out onto the balcony and thought nothing of the fact that both her nipples were extremely visible through her nightgown. She no longer cared as she felt Regina squeeze her hand and welcome her to that particular evening's sunset.

Regina tugged Emma until the blonde padded in front of her on the balcony. She wrapped her arms around the princess' waist from behind and stopped them at the edge of the balcony.

Emma immediately rested her hands on top of the cement banister that encompassed the balcony. She looked out at the rest of the Enchanted Forest, not all of it visible from the Dark Palace, and breathed in the fresh, outdoor air.

“It's beautiful,” Emma said as though she were in a trance.

Regina looked out at the horizon and marveled in the glow of the sunset. But the sunset wasn't what got her to smile. For the first time in a long time, she felt her heart beat. It beat before, every day for the last thirty plus years she'd been alive, but after a while she'd lost the feeling. That night, however, as she held Emma and observed one of the countless sunsets she'd seen in the last couple decades, the feeling had returned. A calm she'd hadn't known since she'd started secretly seeing Daniel washed over her, a calm long lost and terribly missed.

“Beautiful indeed,” Regina agreed, though she hadn't particularly referred to the sunset.

Due to their time at the stables, as Regina had earlier predicted, there wasn't much of a sunset left for the two of them to enjoy before the darkness of nightfall consumed the Enchanted Forest. But as Regina led Emma back into her chamber then, her hand in Emma's as she backed up toward the bed, neither one of them seemed to mind.

When the back of Regina's thighs hit the edge of the bed, she pulled Emma into a searing kiss and carelessly fell onto the bed. She brought Emma down with her as she fell and only broke their kiss when their teeth gnashed upon impact.

Emma had landed slightly on top of Regina and, for a moment, she tried to take full advantage of that. She pushed into Regina as she continued to kiss the brunette and attempted to make Regina roll onto her back.

The Queen knew better.

Regina momentarily let Emma think she had the upper hand and rolled partially onto her back as Emma intensified the kiss. When she felt Emma snake a leg over her hips in an attempt to straddle her, Regina smirked into the kiss and rolled Emma onto her back.

Emma's leg, the one she'd used to try and straddle Regina with, remained spread as Regina rolled on top of her. She groaned when her back laid flat on the bed and pressed her knee into Regina's side.

Regina reached back and rested a hand on Emma's knee for a moment before she slowly pushed it aside and slid her hand over Emma's thigh. She took her time as her hand slid closer and closer to Emma's sex.

Emma whimpered when Regina's thumb brushed against her underwear. She turned her head and broke the kiss in one swift move as she panted and avoided Regina's gaze.

Regina pulled back ever so slightly and gave herself only enough space to look at Emma. She immediately stilled her hand when Emma turned away from her and tried to look into green eyes.

“It's okay,” Regina whispered before she brought her lips to Emma's neck and kissed below her jaw.

Regina slid her hand upward and felt Emma's heated skin against her palm. She dragged the nightgown with her as she placed a trail of wet kisses from the blonde's jawline to her pulse point then started to nip at her skin.

Emma relaxed her leg and rested it on the bed. She turned to look up at the ceiling instead of at the wall and almost trapped Regina's head between her sternum and chin. She tipped her head back and pressed it into the pillow to give Regina room.

The brunette continued to kiss and nip. When she felt Emma extend her neck, she began to suck at the blonde's pulse point. Her hand reached one of Emma's breasts and she moaned against Emma's neck. She cupped rounded, warm flesh and rolled her hips against Emma's center.

Emma moaned and bucked her hips to press herself against Regina.

Regina grazed Emma's nipple with the pad of her thumb then kissed down Emma's sternum as far as the gown permitted. She dipped her head to access the skin just beneath the neckline of the gown. She kissed her a few more times before she slid her hand off Emma's breast and pressed it into the bed on the younger woman's side, still inside the gown. She pulled away from Emma's chest and found hazy, emerald eyes.

“I want you to feed me,” Regina said, her voice smoky and her eyes darkened by lust.

“Right now,” Emma asked.

Regina grinned.

“Yes. Are you feeling well?”

Emma nodded against the pillow, her blonde tresses sure to be tangled when she got up.

“I'm fine,” Emma confirmed with her words.

The blonde took a few seconds to regulate her breathing and even when she still didn't have much control over it, she tried to sit up.

“No, dear,” Regina said as she placed a hand on Emma's sternum and gently pushed the woman back onto the bed. “No need to get up.”

“Then how am I to feed you?”

“Well...I really want to eat _off_ you more than I want to have you feed me. I should have been more clear.”

Regina pushed off the bed and slid her hand out from underneath Emma's nightgown. She went to the nightstand and scooped up a spoonful of excess sauce from in the pan. She held the spoon above her free hand in case the sauce dripped. She would rather lick sauce off her hand than to have a servant clean the sauce off any part of her chamber.

The sauce didn't drip, however, and she managed to make the two or three steps back to the bed mess free. She pushed up Emma's nightgown and ensured that only her breasts were concealed by the luxurious silk. She tipped the spoon and let the sauce fall from the silver utensil onto Emma's bare stomach.

The second Emma felt the warm sauce drizzle onto her stomach, she instinctively tensed her abdomen.

Regina grinned as she watched how Emma's body reacted.

“You don't mind, do you, Princess,” Regina asked, her voice overly sweet.

To Emma, the Queen's tone suggested that if she said yes, Regina would continue her actions, though maybe she would find less joy in it. And if she said no, Regina would take it as an invitation to do as she pleased from that point on with or without the blonde's consent.

Emma compromised and just shook her head.

Regina studied Emma's features and her grin slowly disappeared.

“Tell me if I do anything you don't like,” Regina said, serious but still radiating sexuality.

“Okay,” Emma quietly said.

Regina reached over and pushed the food around in the pan until she exposed more sauce then scooped it up. She purposely spilled the sauce on Emma yet again and tried to cover most of the younger woman's trembling abdomen.

Regina placed the spoon back in the pan and abandoned their dinner as she directed her attention to Emma. She grabbed Emma's knees with a light touch and slowly spread the princess' legs. She knelt between them and leaned in as she let go of Emma's knees. She pressed her hands into the bed on either side of the blonde and lowered her mouth to Emma's sauce coated stomach. Her anxious tongue slithered past parted lips and licked up the woman's abdomen.

Emma sharply inhaled the moment Regina's tongue touched her skin. She'd never had anyone do such a thing to her and quickly she realized that the experience was as exciting as it was alarming.

Though the shock didn't last long. Even as Regina swirled her tongue around her navel, Emma still felt the butterflies in her stomach flutter as rapidly as they had when Regina first started to lick the sauce off her, but it wasn't as startling. By then, she expected the sensation.

Regina delved her tongue into Emma's navel and surprisingly caused the younger woman to giggle. She smiled as she gently bit down on the top of Emma's navel, her tongue still inside the small dip in her skin.

Emma's giggle died instantly. A moment of silence fell over them before Emma bit her bottom lip and moaned.

Regina felt Emma start to squirm underneath her. She released Emma's navel and left a trail of kisses from there up to the start of the valley between the blonde's breasts. The bridge of her nose pushed the nightgown out of her way enough to keep Emma's breasts covered while it also gave her access to more skin, the hem of the nightgown wrinkled up just under Emma's breasts.

Regina placed a wet kiss at the bottom of Emma's sternum before she raked her teeth over unmarked skin. She then sucked at the same spot before she nipped it a few times. She alternated between cautious bites and greedy sucking until Emma grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her further north.

Regina moved up Emma's body per the younger woman's request and in the process, she managed to brush her chest against the hem of the nightgown. The gown slid up Emma's breasts and uncovered her hardened nipples.

Only Emma noticed as the air around her breasts became a few degrees colder, but she paid no attention. She stared straight into dark, chocolate pools filled with lust, desire. She pressed the flat of her palm against the back of Regina's neck and crashed their lips together in a passionate kiss that quickly became more teeth and tongues than lips.

They broke their kiss the second they needed oxygen and Regina pulled back into a kneeling position.

Regina didn't bother to catch her breath before she reached around and started to untie her corset.

“Would you like me to touch you,” Regina asked as she worked her way up each lace and loosened it. “Or is it too much?”

Emma reached behind Regina and grabbed one of her hands.

Regina stopped unlacing her corset before she even figured out what Emma wanted with her hand.

Emma pressed Regina's hand against her pelvic bone and slowly guided it lower.

Regina didn't fight Emma's pace and allowed the blonde to control things. The closer Emma guided her hand to the woman's sex, the more uncertainty she saw form in green eyes. She knew if she moved things along in any way, she'd be pressuring the blonde.

Emma moved Regina's hand closer to her own thigh the closer she got to her sex. She should have stopped there, but she kept going as a test to see how far she could go. She ran the tip of Regina's middle finger over the side of her underwear before she moved it across the material. She pushed Regina's finger against her underwear and it parted her folds through the underwear. It caused Regina's fingertip to press against her clit.

Emma immediately let go of Regina's hand while she simultaneously snapped her legs closed. Or at least, pressed her knees together in front of Regina's ribs to keep the brunette away.

Regina pulled her hand out from between Emma's legs the moment the blonde let go. She defensively raised her arms to show Emma that both of her hands were visible and nowhere near her center.

“I'm sorry,” Emma quietly said as she closed her eyes, unable to meet the Queen's gaze.

“It's okay,” Regina repeated her words from earlier, that time above a whisper but her words still as comforting and reassuring as the first time.

Emma opened her eyes in time to see Regina reach around her back again and continue to unlace the corset.

“Will you touch me?”

Emma looked Regina up and down before her lips slowly formed a grin.

“Yes.”

Regina smirked just as she untied the final lace. She moved her hands back around to the front of her corset and reached into the pocket. When her fingertips hit the bottom of the pocket, she suddenly frowned at Emma.

Emma furrowed her brow and her grin quickly faded.

“Regina?”

Regina looked down at the pocket while she wiggled her fingers around inside.

“What is it,” Emma asked with genuine concern.

“I had a ring in here,” Regina replied, though she seemed absent-minded when she spoke.

Her thoughts focused on everything she had done that day, everywhere she had gone, as she tried to piece together the exact moment she lost it.

“A ring?”

Regina didn't seem to notice Emma as she shot of the bed and turned the pocket inside out. Again, there was nothing.

Regina felt tears begin to form and threaten to spill.

Emma sat up.

“No,” Regina whispered.

“Regina?”

Emma reached out and touched the brunette's elbow.

Regina snapped out of her thoughts and rejoined reality. She yanked her arm away from Emma and started a brisk pace toward the hallway. She didn't even bother to lace up her corset as she headed out of her chamber.

“Bruce! Bruce,” Regina hastily called out.

Emma pulled her nightgown back down and covered herself up before she slid off the bed. She scrambled into the hall and toward the grand staircase as she chased after the Queen.

“Huntsman,” Regina yelled in a booming, authoritative voice.

Anyone who didn't respond to the Queen's call was an idiot. Emma had only been there a few days, but she knew it would be a mistake not to rush to Her Majesty's aid, especially given the woman's tone of voice.

Even though she hadn't been called herself, Emma still followed the sound of Regina's voice through the palace. After another minute of shouting names and titles, she caught up with Regina in the large foyer by the palace's entrance along with several men she didn't know or recognize.

Emma stopped a few feet behind Regina, off to the side and out of the way. She watched as a man stepped up to the Queen, but maintained a five foot distance before he bowed.

Before Regina could address the man, the Huntsman ran into the room and joined the group of men Regina had called.

“My apologies, Your Majesty,” the Huntsman said almost immediately, a bit out of breath before he himself bowed.

When he straightened up, he looked over and noticed Emma for the first time just as Regina started to speak.

“I need you to search for a ring between here and the stables,” Regina started. “I'm not certain where it fell, but I know it is somewhere within the woods.”

Emma met the Huntsman's gaze, but averted her eyes after a few seconds to stare at the floor.

“I will not rest nor will I let any of _you_ rest until it is found,” Regina barked.

“A ring, Your Majesty,” the man who had first bowed asked.

“Yes, Bruce. A ring. Do you have a problem with looking for a ring,” Regina sharply asked, her tone cutting and aggressive.

It set Emma on edge and caused her to stiffen. She looked up and locked eyes with the Huntsman once again.

“No, Your Majesty,” Bruce said as he trained his eyes on the floor.

He dipped his head, his chin nearly pressed into his sternum, as a sign of his submission.

“Good,” Regina growled.

“Your Majesty,” one of the men near the Huntsman timidly spoke up.

Regina snapped her head and zeroed in on the man who dared to speak without permission. She would have immediately reprimanded him if she hadn't noticed something peculiar out of the corner of her eye. She looked from the man who dared to speak to the Huntsman then followed his gaze to the princess.

She gritted her teeth and set her jaw. She clenched her fists at her sides and almost yelled at both of them when the man who dared to speak spoke again.

“The moon is out,” the man started.

The Huntsman felt Regina's fiery gaze focused on him and looked at her. Their eyes met for a moment before Regina redirected her attention on the other man once again.

“There isn't much light. I doubt we'll be able to find a ring out there,” the man finished.

“I don't care! Do whatever it takes to find. That. Ring!”

“It isn't possible, My Queen,” another man insisted.

Before Regina could take a deep, calming breath, she shot out her hand and caused glass from the nearby windows and the double doors at the entrance to shatter. She immediately flicked her wrist toward the man afterward and the shards flew at the man from behind.

Emma gasped as she watched the shards slice through the man and stick out of his chest and stomach. She stood with wide eyes and a slack jaw as blood seeped out of each wound the shards caused. The blood stained the glass and dripped onto the floor.

“Anyone else think it's impossible _,_ ” Regina furiously yelled at the group.

The man with the glass shards in his body fell to his knees and keeled over. He placed a hand on the floor and coughed up blood.

Emma looked from him to Regina and tried to process what she'd seen when the Huntsman spoke up.

“We won't find it, Your Majesty.”

Regina instantly conjured a fireball at her hip, but before she could send it hurling toward the Huntsman, Emma stepped between her and the Huntsman.

“Stop!”

Regina's eyes softened the second she looked into emerald eyes.

“They're right. It's dark out. There's no way they could find a ring. Just wait until morning and have them search for it as soon as the sun comes up,” Emma pleadingly said.

Regina frowned and furrowed her brow.

The two women stared at each other in complete silence for what seemed like an eternity.

“Please,” Emma begged after a moment.

Regina sighed and clenched her fist until the fireball diminished.

Emma slowly took a few steps toward Regina and reached out for the woman's hand, the one she'd used to conjure the fireball, and laced their fingers.

“Leave us,” Regina barked at the men.

Bruce and the other guards all took their leave, but the Huntsman stayed.

He stared at Regina and Emma, a worried expression on his face that also appeared somewhat sad.

Regina looked over Emma's shoulder and saw the Huntsman staring. Part of her wanted to conjure another fireball and throw it at him, but another part wanted to put the man in his place. The latter part of her won out. She wickedly grinned and wrapped an arm around Emma's waist. She pulled the blonde close and kissed her right in front of the Huntsman. She didn't look at him at first and just melted into the kiss for the first few seconds. But as she started to use the kiss to claim Emma instead of show the blonde affection, her eyes shot open and immediately locked onto the Huntsman.

The Huntsman's eyes darted around the room as he tried to avoid the Queen's dangerous gaze, but like a moth to a flame he couldn't keep his eyes off Emma. He looked back at Regina as she hungrily kissed Emma, absent of any shame.

Regina moved their joined hands toward the waistline of her leather pants. She latched the blonde's hand onto her pants and cupped her hand around the back of Emma's neck. She closed her eyes again and held Emma flush against her.

Emma moaned, though not out of encouragement. She moaned again, her body rigid as she squirmed away from the brunette.

Regina felt Emma pull away and reluctantly let her go.

“Can you make him better,” Emma asked with a frown after a moment.

Regina quizzically looked at the princess.

Emma turned her body and pointed to the man with the glass shards stuck in him then looked at Regina again.

Regina inspected the damage, even from her distance, and came to a conclusion after a moment.

“I can,” Regina answered through gritted teeth as she looked from the man back to Emma.

“Will you?”

Regina huffed out a sigh.

“If you wish. Though I prefer to make examples of those who disrespect me,” Regina said before she flicked her wrist and magically pulled the glass out of the man.

The glass pieced itself back together and repaired the windows and doors.

When she slid her hand over the man's body again, still at a distance, her hand glowed purple as she held it out with her palm faced toward the man. Within a few seconds, the purple glow faded around her hand and the man took in a deep, audible breath.

The man slowly got to his feet, the wounds from the glass healed and his blood no longer visible.

“Thank you,” Emma said.

Regina briefly smiled at Emma before she looked past the blonde and at the Huntsman.

“Huntsman, take the guard to get medical attention and make sure he is well,” Regina ordered.

“...Yes, Your Majesty,” the Huntsman begrudgingly agreed.

Regina turned away and headed toward the staircase. She didn't bother to look over her shoulder to check on Emma, as she had done when they traveled from the kitchen to her bedchamber earlier.

Emma watched Regina walk away before she turned to the Huntsman. She saw the man help the guard stand up straight, his arm tucked under one of the guard's arms to keep the man on his feet.

“She's done much worse,” the Huntsman warned Emma in a hushed tone. “And she'll likely continue to do such cruel and vile things.”

Emma frowned.

“You should leave the palace while you still can, Your Highness,” the Huntsman added. “Nothing good will come from you staying here.”

Emma's frown deepened and her expression turned morose and conflicted. She averted her eyes as she looked around at different points in the room. After a couple seconds, she met his gaze again and gave a curt nod.

“I appreciate your concern,” Emma evenly said then turned and followed after Regina.

***     *     ***

When Emma joined Regina in the Queen's bedchamber, she watched the brunette pace back and forth. She rigidly stood in the doorway and refused to take another step forward in case Regina wanted to lash out again.

“I should have let him choke on his own blood. I should have let him die and sent the other guards to spread news of what happens when you defy the Queen,” Regina growled. “But then you asked me to make him better and I let him live.”

Regina turned and glared at Emma as she stopped pacing.

“I'm...sorry?”

Emma didn't know what to say.

Regina shook her head and her expression faltered. Her anger was still evident in her fiery eyes and tight-set jaw.

“You,” Regina said in a gravelly tone.

Emma gulped. She felt a shift in the air.

“Ever since you got here,” Regina started as she advanced on the blonde and closed the space between them. “You've managed to get under my skin and change the way I do things. How _dare_ you!”

Regina shot out a hand and magically shut the door to her chamber with a slam. She raised her other hand and wrapped it around Emma's neck. She squeezed as she threw Emma against the wall.

Emma grunted on impact and scrunched up her face in discomfort as the air left her lungs.

“Reg-ina,” Emma strangled out, raspy and barely louder than a whisper.

“You really _aren't_ as innocent as I thought we were. This whole time, you were being cute and sweet just so I'd be nice to you and put an end to my 'evil' reign.”

Emma tried to shake her head, though the movement was limited.

Regina still understood Emma's response all the same, but she didn't relent.

“I-”

Emma started. She fought to form every last word she said until she managed to voice her defense.

“I-I... _like_...you-”

Regina looked into wide, green eyes until she saw the truth in them.

“I wou-would...ne-ver...try to- hurt...you,” Emma continued.

Regina's expression quickly softened as she eased up on Emma's neck.

The instant Emma could breathe again, she gasped to take in as much oxygen she had been deprived then coughed.

Regina pulled her hand away after Emma's single cough turned into a small fit of them. She dropped her hand to her side and took a step back.

Emma took a few ragged breaths once her coughing subsided and pushed away from the wall. After a few moments, she took a couple deep breaths and ran a hand through her hair.

“You...like me,” Regina disbelievingly asked. “You actually, _genuinely_ like me.”

The second time wasn't a question. It was a statement said in an intrigued tone that fit the Evil Queen persona.

“Of course,” Emma confirmed. “I've been fascinated with you since I was little. Your name was my first word. I've never tried to run from you even though you've allowed me more freedom to wander through the palace. How can you doubt me when I've done nothing to betray your trust?”

Regina sighed and shook her head, apologetic.

“I told you it isn't easy for me to trust,” Regina quietly confessed. “It's safer to see the worst in people than to think anyone could care for you.”

“Why do you believe that?”

“Because then it's harder to be manipulated by those you once thought were only trying to help.”

Emma frowned and rubbed her neck where she was sure bruises in the shape of Regina's fingers would soon appear.

“I wish you didn't have to feel guarded, but I understand. I've been manipulated once or twice as well.”

Regina's eyes wandered from green eyes down to the neck she had previously tried to wring. Within a couple of seconds, she closed the space between them and slowly reached out for Emma.

The blonde noticed Regina's hand extend toward her and immediately, she flinched.

Regina contorted her face into a sort of wince, a sad and guilty expression. She froze mid-step and kept her hand completely still between her and the princess. She didn't move any closer until Emma felt comfortable.

Emma looked up from Regina's hand to her concerned, chocolate eyes. With her own hand gently placed over her neck, she stared at Regina for a few long moments. Silence filled the air between them as well as the entire chamber as they stood. Their eyes never left the other and Emma took her time to seek out Regina's intentions through those same concerned eyes.

Finally, Emma trusted Regina not to hurt her again. She nodded at the Queen and allowed the woman to touch her.

Regina cupped Emma's cheek and stroked the pad of her thumb over the blonde's cheekbone. The corners of her mouth slowly curled upward to form a smile as she admired the woman before her.

“I apologize, my dear,” Regina said as her smile faded to display her sincerity. “I like you too. I let my anger cloud my judgment and I hurt you. I can't guarantee that it won't happen again, but I'll try my hardest not to direct my anger at you.”

Emma paused before she nodded.

“If you don't mind me asking...what's so special about the ring you lost,” Emma asked.

Regina hesitated before she took another step closer to Emma. She pushed her hand further back until her thumb pressed against the shell of Emma's ear and leaned in. Her lips met Emma's in a tender kiss, one without tongue but with emotion nonetheless.

She lingered.

Regina kept her lips on Emma's for as long as she could, as long as Emma would allow her. She stayed wrapped up in the kiss for a moment longer before she pulled away, her hand included.

“It...was Daniel's ring,” Regina finally, slowly answered.

“Oh,” Emma quietly responded.

“The ring he gave me...the night he proposed to me. Well...I proposed to him, but he...he gave me the ring from his bag. It wasn't much, but it was everything.”

Emma smiled and leaned in. She rested her hands on Regina's hips and pulled the brunette into her. She claimed Regina's lips with her own and used the kiss to express her understanding and sympathy. When the one kiss wasn't enough for her, she slid her tongue past parted lips and touched Regina's tongue with the tip of her own. She pulled her tongue back right after she touched Regina's and kept the kiss chaste from that point on.

Regina, however, didn't prefer the chasteness. Instead, her tongue slithered out to meet Emma's again and dominated the kiss when they touched for a second time.

Emma contentedly hummed into the kiss as their tongues danced together and Regina pushed her up against the wall. She felt her back press into the wall while her front melted into Regina's body.

Regina placed a hand on the wall beside Emma's head, above the blonde's shoulder, and her other hand on Emma's chest. Her fingertips lightly pressed against Emma's collarbone while the heel of her palm applied pressure to the younger woman's breast, above her nipple. She used that hand to keep Emma in place against the wall as the blonde writhed beneath her in an attempt to push her toward the bed.

Regina moaned into the kiss before she reluctantly broke it then rested her forehead against Emma's.

“Just get some sleep, Regina,” Emma started. “We'll find your ring. I promise.”

“I don't like promises.”

“Why not?”

“Someone broke a promise to me once and it cost me everything.”

“Okay. Then I rescind my promise and want only to assure you that when morning comes, you'll get your ring back. There's nothing we can do now except sleep.”

Regina nodded then reached down and took Emma's hand in hers. She laced their fingers and pulled Emma toward the bed. She spun the blonde around to face her, Emma's back to the bed, and gently pushed her onto it.

Emma fell onto her back and bent her legs at the knees as she set her feet on the edge of the bed. She pushed with her feet to move herself further onto the bed as Regina crawled onto the bed between her legs.

Regina hovered over Emma and smiled down at the blonde.

“You know, we never got to finish your time as my slave,” Regina purred.

Emma bit her bottom lip.

“What a shame...for you,” Emma quipped.

Regina chuckled.

“Watch your tongue,” Regina warned.

Emma stuck her tongue out at Regina in an act of defiance.

Regina grinned as she leaned in and nipped at Emma's tongue.

Emma giggled and retracted her tongue before Regina closed the distance between their mouths and kissed her.

“Sleep,” Emma insisted.

“Only if you'll be my slave tomorrow night after your magic lesson.”

“I'll think about it.”

Regina narrowed her eyes.

“I don't want you to think about it. I want you to accept it,” Regina said.

Emma smirked.

“Anything worth having is a struggle, takes great efforts, and above all: takes patience,” Emma said.

Regina didn't say another word. She smiled and leaned in again to chastely kiss Emma.

Emma kissed back for the brief second the kiss lasted then watched Regina sit up before she laid on her back on her side of the bed.

In the process, Regina trapped one of Emma's legs beneath her, Emma horizontally splayed on the bed while Regina laid vertically.

Emma propped herself up on her elbows.

“Do you think before you fall asleep you could give me back my leg,” Emma asked with a smile.

Regina smiled back as she turned her head to look at Emma.

“Do you think before _you_ fall asleep you could agree to reschedule your time as my slave,” Regina teasingly repeated the form of Emma's question.

“Mm,” Emma elongated a hum in feigned consideration. “No.”

Emma's smirk only widened when Regina glared at her, unappreciative of her answer.

“Tease,” Regina said.

“Predator,” Emma shot back in banter.

“Dainty little princess.”

“Sexual evil queen.”

Regina grinned.

Emma silently chuckled.

Regina had only noticed Emma had even laughed by the way the blonde's stomach tensed then relaxed a few times as she gently shook in place on the bed.

Emma pushed herself onto her hands instead of her elbows and slid her leg out from under Regina.

“If I am to get some rest, you should too, my dear,” Regina said as Emma curled up as she remained sitting on the bed.

Emma looked down at Regina for a moment, their eyes locked on each other, before she flashed a small smile and laid down beside the Queen.

“Yes, _Your Majesty_ ,” Emma feigned subordination, though she did settle into the bed with a few shakes and squirms until she found comfort.

“Goodnight, Princess,” Regina said as she tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind Emma's ear.

“Goodnight, Regina,” Emma said as she traced the indent of Regina's lip scar with her index finger.

Regina closed her eyes as she felt Emma's feather-light touch on her upper lip. After a few minutes, her breathing started to even out.

Emma watched Regina drift off and waited until she started to feel sleep overtake her before she fought it off and cautiously got out of bed. With each move she made, she tried her hardest not to cause the bed to drastically dip at any point. After maybe a minute, she was on her feet.

She went to the closet and searched in the dark for something to slip on over her sleepwear. It didn't take long before she found a dark dress, unable to identify its color, and threw it on over her revealing nightgown then crossed the chamber.

As she headed for the door, she stared at Regina and watched her sleep. She hesitated once she reached the door, her hand on the knob, as she took in Regina's calm and peaceful appearance. A second later, Emma quietly opened the door and tiptoed toward the grand staircase. She softly went down every last step before she made it to the palace's entrance.

The Huntsman stilled his movements as he quietly walked down a hallway that lead back to the foyer. When he spotted a familiar blonde princess, he stopped and directed watchful eyes on her.

At the entrance, Emma didn't hesitate.

She opened one of the double doors and disappeared into the night.


	9. Chapter 9

“Guards!”

Regina shrieked with fury as she frantically paced through her palace.

Five men scrambled into the foyer and got down on one knee before the Queen.

“Your Majesty,” the guard in front, Bruce, addressed her.

“Get up,” Regina angrily ordered. “Not only have I lost my ring, but now I've lost my princess as well.”

“Would you like us to find her,” one of the other guards asked.

Bruce elbowed the other guard in his armor and caused it to clank against his chain sleeves.

“I would like to know just how she _escaped_ ,” Regina growled. “There are supposed to be ten men making rounds to ensure the safety of this palace. She couldn't have left without anyone seeing her.”

“Your Majesty,” Bruce carefully started with is head bowed, chin to his chest. “There were a few of us that circled around the east wing and paid Elroy a visit in the infirmary. In shifts, of course. One at a time.”

Regina clenched her jaw and fought back a growl.

“You deemed _that_ more important than watching the perimeter,” Regina asked before she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“My apologizes, Your Majesty,” Bruce said. “We shouldn't have spent so much time and energy on Elroy.”

“You're right,” Regina said. “But there's no use in wasting more time dwelling on it.”

Bruce furrowed his brow, confused.

Regina darkly chuckled.

“Oh, who am I kidding,” Regina rhetorically asked before she held out a hand, clenched as if it were wrapped around someone's neck.

Magically, she choked the guard to Bruce's right.

“He dies if you fail to bring back the princess.”

The man garbled and coughed as he struggled to breathe.

“And if that's not enough to go out and search for her, every hour you're unsuccessful at bringing her to me, another one of you dies.”

The guards ran out the front door with her last threat.

When the group left her, she rolled her eyes and relinquished the guard she'd started to strangle.

The guard gasped in all the air he could and coughed a few times.

“Thank you for sparing me, Your Majesty,” the guard said. “I shall go looking for the princess in response to your generosity.”

The guard tried to leave, but the Queen held up her hand and stopped him.

“Who said I was sparing you,” Regina stated. “I'm only refusing to waste my energy on you at the moment. Now, the dungeon is a more preferable place for you until I get what I want.”

Regina carelessly waved her hand and the guard disappeared in a puff of purple smoke.

As the smoke dissipated, Regina sauntered up to the war room.

***     *     ***

Regina glided her hand over the table and magically made a map appear, as she had done when she checked to see Snow's movements and position relative to the Dark Palace.

“Emma, where are you,” Regina asked the map as she searched the expanse for a dot, a little fleck of hope that she would get her princess back.

No sign of even a flicker of light.

Regina took a deep breath and clenched a fist around the corner of the table. Her eyes burned with an intense fire as she glared at the desolate map.

“You have a few people waiting downstairs, Your Majesty,” the Huntsman informed the Queen from the doorway. “They're here to discuss-”

“I know why they're here,” Regina snapped. “Send them up here and apologize for my tardiness. I wish to address the princess' absence for the moment.”

Regina waved her hand over the table again and made the map disappear.

“Would you like me to explain why they'll be kept waiting?”

“Of course not,” Regina barked. “And you should really reconsider how you talk to me, _Huntsman_.”

“I'm sorry, Your Majesty,” he bowed his head.

Regina strutted toward the doorway.

“Know your place,” Regina said as she pushed the Huntsman square in his chest and shoved him out of her way.

Regina disappeared behind the thick door of her bedchamber and hurriedly went to the vanity. She sat down and carelessly waved a hand from right to left in front of the mirror.

The former Genie's head appeared in the glass surrounded by a cloud of blue smoke.

“Can you show her to me,” Regina asked.

“I'm afraid I cannot, though you should know that by now.”

Regina frowned.

“Or do you not remember what I told you after that...incident. Then again on every birthday following-”

“Yes, I remember,” Regina quickly said to stop him from saying anything else. “But...she's not with _them_ , is she? If she's out there somewhere, not with Snow or Charming, can't you show her to me?”

“I guess I shall be reminding you yet again,” the Genie said, a little tired. “It isn't about _where_ the princess is. The spell the Blue Fairy cast is to ensure that I, ostensibly _you_ , cannot _ever_ look in on her.”

Regina solemnly looked down at the desk connected to the mirror.

“I've noticed, Your Majesty, over the last few days. Knowing what I know, I can actually say I'm sorry she's gone and even more sorry I cannot help you find her.”

Regina looked up at the Genie with confusion.

“What exactly is it that you've noticed? More importantly, _why_ have you been spying on me?”

“When you brought the princess back here, I was concerned something might happen to you so I kept an eye.”

“And what did you notice?”

Before the Genie could answer, there was a commotion outside the palace.

Grunts, guttural growls, and throaty yells erupted from the front yard.

Regina looked at her closed chamber door and with an absent-minded wave of her hand, the Genie vanished from the mirror. She rose from the high back chair and headed down to the foyer.

“Your Majesty,” a guard yelled as the Queen descended the stairs.

A few more guards addressed her the same way and started to talk over each other.

“One at a time,” Regina ordered with a raised hand to silence them. “You.”

She pointed at the guard closest to the palace entrance.

“Your Majesty,” the guard started. “You're needed outside. The other guards say it's pertinent.”

“Did they say why?”

The guard shook his head.

“They said there wasn't time for explanations.”

“Fine,” Regina drew the word out in a deep tone. “You four are dismissed. Resume your previous positions around the palace.”

Regina sauntered over to the double door and threw them open in a showy manner. She descended the steps on the patio-like area that surrounded the front entrance and saw blonde curls and a dark red dress she recognized from her closet.

The figure jogged toward her as several guards attempted to catch her and bring her to the Queen themselves.

The princess' eyes were locked on Regina as she smiled at the other woman.

Regina felt her heart thump roughly in her chest and Emma's smile almost caused her to smile back. But she remembered the events of the morning. She remembered how she had woken up to an empty bed. She remembered how she personally searched every room of the palace for Emma before she demanded the guards find her. What she remembered most, however, was how she had put her search for Emma before the search for her beloved ring.

Regina didn't smile at Emma.

Two guards sidled up to the princess on either side of her and they each grabbed an arm.

Emma's smile faded as she looked from the stern and upset Queen to the guards at her sides.

“Release her,” Regina coldly commanded as she continued to walk toward the blonde.

The guards let Emma go and stepped away from her as Regina came within a few inches from her.

Their faces were close, hers and Regina's.

“What did I tell you about leaving,” Regina yelled.

“I'm sorry, Regina, but I-”

“Silence!”

Emma flinched as Regina stepped further into her personal space.

“You are not to leave the palace ever again. You will not even leave my bedchamber! Do you understand?”

“But I-”

“Enough,” Regina growled then turned and headed back toward the double doors to her palace. “My guards will escort you back to my chamber-”

“I found your ring!”

Regina stopped. She stood still for a moment then turned back to Emma.

When Emma had her attention, she placed both hands over her stomach and slipped the object off her ring finger. She held it out to Regina.

“I apologize for wearing it, but upon my return there were some wolves and I believe a poacher? I didn't get a good look. The man had some arrows and hid in the shadows and I didn't want him to find me. It was dark and I was in the woods. I didn't want to lose the ring so I wore it.”

Regina walked back to Emma and looked from the younger woman to the ring she held in her hand. Daniel's ring. Her mouth opened as she stared at it.

“You,” Regina breathed out in awe, her focus still on the ring. “You went in search for my ring?”

Regina's eyes flicked from the ring to green orbs.

“I told you you'd have it by morning,” Emma smiled.

Regina stared, mouth agape, for a few moments before she remembered they weren't alone.

“Guards, leave us,” Regina demanded.

The guards dispersed.

“I know it's a little late in the morning, but it wasn't easy to find this ring,” Emma said as she slowly stepped closer to Regina.

“Where was it?”

“At the stables. Over by where we...um...” Emma trailed off as a blush colored her cheeks. “You know.”

Regina slowly started to smile at Emma's embarrassment.

“It was the strangest thing, really,” Emma continued and looked up from the ring to Regina's eyes. “I searched the ground from the start of the woods all the way to the stables. Then, when I got to the stables, I saw the grave.”

Regina looked down at the ground and tried to fight the heartbreak she felt.

“I knelt in front of it and paid my respects.”

Regina looked up at Emma.

“But you didn't even know him.”

“No, but he must have been an honorable man from the way you've spoken of him.”

_Emma bowed her head and silently apologized to a man she'd never met._

“ _Thank you for making Regina happy while you were with her,” Emma said to the grave. “I wish you had been able to spend more time with her. It's a shame you two didn't get a happy ending. I believe everyone should have one. Part of the reason I believe people turn to the darkness and do bad things are because they've lost the light._

“ _Regina_ _...she's far from the woman I assume you knew, but when she talks about you she gets this look in her eyes.”_

_Emma smiled as she recalled the brunette's face._

“ _We've only talked about you a couple times, but even when she'd sad about what happened, about how you got here, there's this...innocence to her. Her eyes soften and she seems to forget all about being Queen and magic and revenge._

“ _Anyway, I should find the ring. She'll probably get angry if she finds out I left the palace and here I am, talking to the grave of a man I only know two things about: his name and how he died._

“ _Now, if I were a ring...where would I hide from the person who desperately wants me back?”_

_Emma placed a hand on top of the grave to stand when an odd but warm feeling swelled within her._

_The warmth she felt inside contrasted with the chill of the night. The combination of the two temperatures formed goosebumps all over her body._

_Emma moved back toward the ground as the feeling overwhelmed her. As she gulped, she felt that unidentifiable feeling mix with the familiar magnetic pull she often experienced._

_Her eyes immediately looked across the stables toward the place where had conjured a blanket for her and Regina. She removed her hand from the grave and the warm feeling faded._

_Once she stood, the magnetic pull guided her to the area she'd felt Regina's body for the first time before the riding lesson._

_Then, the magnetic pull relented and she was on her own._

_She scanned the grass before she dropped down to her knees and felt around for minutes that turned into hours as she crawled on all hours. She moved slowly, deliberately, in a thorough search in the dark until she felt something hard and round in the grass. When she touched it, a finger slid through the center of the object and Emma smiled at the discovery._

_She picked it up and held it out in the moonlight. The ring reflected some of the light and transformed Emma's smile into a beaming expression._

“Do you forgive me,” Emma asked with a hopeful look on her face.

Regina laughed, a genuine laugh free of any condescension.

“Of course I forgive you, my dear. But I don't want you running off again.”

Emma nodded.

“Am I still confined to your bedchamber?”

“You should be, but...no. You have the same privileges as you did yesterday.”

Emma smiled.

“So long as you don't forget to inform me of your whereabouts.”

“Okay.”

“I still have that 'evil roundtable' I told you about yesterday,” Regina said. “I believe I've kept them waiting long enough. Still care to accompany me?”

“Yes.”

“Very well then,” Regina said as she tried to take the ring from Emma.

“Wait,” Emma said as she pulled the ring away from Regina. “Can you conjure a gold chain?”

“May I get my ring back first?”

“No.”

“Emma, please don't test my patience.”

“Regina, trust me. Conjure the chain. Make sure it has a clasp. Also, you'll want it to be a bit dainty. Something small and elegant.”

“Anything else, _Princess_ ,” Regina asked with an arched eyebrow.

Emma stifled a laugh as she smiled.

“No. That's it.”

Regina flicked her wrist and ended the motion with her palm up. She closed her hand around a gold chain that met every last one of Emma's specifications. It dangled from Regina's hand on either side of her palm before she turned her hand over so her palm faced the ground and held the chain out to Emma.

Emma held the ring between two fingers and moved it up half the length of the chain before she grabbed the chain at both ends.

Regina stared at the blonde, confused.

Emma walked around Regina then stopped behind her. She reached out in front of Regina and pulled the ends of the chain toward herself.

The ring touched Regina's sternum.

“Pull your hair away from your neck,” Emma said without command or force of any kind.

Regina swept her hair off her neck.

Emma united the ends of the chain with the clasp then released the chain.

The ring slid less than an inch down Regina's sternum and rested just above her breasts.

Regina brought her hand to her chest and touched the ring with her fingertips as Emma walked around her again.

Emma stood in front of Regina with a smile.

“Do you like it,” Emma asked. “You can wear the ring as a necklace. That should keep you from losing it again while also keeping it close.”

Regina stood speechless, her mouth agape.

“That _is_ why you kept it in your pocket, is it not,” Emma asked.

Regina closed her mouth and nodded.

“Consider me in your debt, Princess,” Regina said before she made the space between them nonexistent.

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's waist and pulled her into a hard, passionate kiss.

Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's neck and kissed back with as much passion.

When they needed air, they broke the kiss. Regina let go of Emma and stepped back.

“I really wish I didn't have business to attend to, my dear,” Regina said. “I could kiss you all day.”

Emma closed the space between them and chastely kissed Regina.

Regina smiled.

“But as I've said, I am in your debt. Whatever you want. Name it and it shall be yours. One thing that would make you happy.”

“Do I have to decide right now?”

“No,” Regina shook her head with a small smile. “But you'll let me know when you do?”

“I will.”

“Good. Now, we must go to the war room for a discussion I'd rather not have. Though it is my fault the discussion is needed.”

Regina took Emma's hand and laced their fingers as they walked into the palace.

“What's the 'evil roundtable' for anyway,” Emma asked.

“Your parents.”

***     *     ***

Emma looked back and forth between Regina and Bruce as the two argued.

“But, Your Majesty, if we don't attack they will,” Bruce insisted. “Surely that barrier won't last.”

“We will _not_ attack. We stay on the defensive this time,” Regina firmly stated.

“Why after all these years would you do such a thing,” Bruce asked.

The rest of the Royal Guard sat in silence around the table while their leader fought with their Queen.

“Having the princess here will only cause you more trouble than satisfaction,” Bruce continued. “I understand that bedding your enemy's daughter must be immensely gratifying, but at what cost?”

“As I have told the Dark One, so shall I tell you,” Regina growled as she stood. “My intentions with the princess are of only _my_ concern.”

Bruce sighed through his nose and remained rigid in his chair to Regina's left.

Emma gulped, uncomfortable being the subject of discussion, especially since she was in the room.

“Allow me to remind you it is your duty to obey my command. Defy me and you shall be punished. You will also treat the princess with respect.”

Emma's eyes immediately snapped up at Regina. She remained in the chair to the brunette's right with her hands settled in her lap. She picked at her cuticles and twiddled her thumbs. At Regina's demand for respect in her name, she stilled her hands, but kept them in her lap.

“I made the mistake of not properly introducing her to you,” Regina added. “I suppose I'll do that now.”

Regina looked over at Emma and held out a hand to the younger woman.

Emma nervously looked up at Regina. She forced herself not to pay any attention to anyone's eyes but Regina's even though everyone had their gazes trained on her.

Regina extended her hand further and gently, carefully, took Emma's hand in hers. She lifted the blonde to her feet and guided her to head of the table. She turned Emma toward the people and rested her hands on the blonde's shoulders.

“This is Princess Emma,” Regina continued from behind Emma. “Treat her as you are to treat me.”

Regina slowly, possessively, ran her hands down Emma's arms.

“Address her as 'Your Highness' and know that her purpose is far more superior than a woman to bed. In fact, she will probably be more useful to me than any of you for reasons I don't have to divulge, nor does she.”

Emma looked around the table and made eye contact with everyone in attendance.

“And if _any_ of you try to touch her in any vile or demeaning or unwanted way,” Regina's eyes shifted to the Huntsman who sat next to Bruce. “I will not hesitate to punish, if not _kill_ , you.”

Regina wrapped an arm around Emma's waist, her attention still fixed on the Huntsman over Emma's shoulder as she stood behind the princess.

“Now, tell me where Snow and Charming are,” Regina growled as she peered over Emma's shoulder at the rest of the people around the table.

Regina held Emma close, their bodies flush against each other, as she kept an arm around the blonde's waist.

“We had eyes on them last night during sunset. They were with a few guards and that woman with the red hood,” one of the guards reported.

“Red,” Emma breathed out in surprise.

Regina looked at Emma and studied the blonde's features to see what her response was to the information provided.

“They came back to the barrier, Your Majesty,” a knight supplied.

Regina finally looked away from Emma and turned her attention to her guards.

“Have they been able to weaken it,” Regina asked as she subconsciously tightened her grip on Emma.

“Not from what we've seen,” Bruce replied.

“I was there late last night,” another guard spoke up. “After the sun went down. The hooded woman sniffed around before she removed the cloak. She turned into a wolf, howled at the moon, then charged the barrier.”

Regina waited for more, but the man didn't continue.

“Well? Did she manage to pass? Out with it, Rivers!”

“Oh, she was unsuccessful,” the guard, Rivers, answered. “She tried a few more times, but all were met with failure. The wolf whimpered a bit too.”

Regina felt Emma tense in her arm.

“Snow and Charming had to help her up after she transformed back into her human form,” Rivers added, oblivious to Emma's change in demeanor.

Regina, however, was not as oblivious.

The brunette used her free hand, the one not joined with the arm she had wrapped around Emma's waist, on the princess' hip. She lightly squeezed to not only draw the blonde's attention, but to silently reassure the younger woman.

“They left,” Rivers again continued, still oblivious.

Emma kept listening to him, though she focused her gaze solely on Regina.

“But Snow White and the prince discussed that they would be back before they helped the other woman back to the White Palace.”

Emma flashed a brief smile at Regina, seemingly as a way of thanks for the other woman's concern, before Rivers finished his opinionated comment.

“Although, I'll tell you, if that Child of the Moon they were with is really their friend, I would think they'd tend to her and make sure she's alright before they think about crossing the Queen,”Rivers said.

Emma's attention quickly snapped to the man and she stiffened once again.

Regina saw and felt the change in the blonde again and immediately glared at Rivers.

“That's enough,” Regina barked at him.

At the other end of the table, one of the people in attendance that was not a knight or guard watched Regina's behavior with intense and curious eyes.

“If you can't bite your tongue...” Regina trailed off as a smirk slowly spread across her lips.

Regina didn't finish her sentence as she flicked her wrist and wickedly grinned at the result.

The guards' eyes bulged and he opened his mouth to talk only to find himself without a tongue.

Emma gasped, along with a few other people at the table, but she was the only one to turn to Regina with scolding eyes.

“Regina,” Emma quietly warned as she tried not to undermine the woman's authority in front of the others, not that truly believed she could do that anyway. “Give him back his tongue.”

Regina scoffed at the mere thought of doing such a thing.

“Regina,” Emma warned again as she pushed further into the brunette's body.

Emma remained only half-turned toward the Queen, but their lips were inches away as she leaned closer to the woman.

Regina looked from Emma's eyes down to her lips.

Rivers groaned and whimpered at the table as he failed to accept the loss of his tongue. He waved his hands around in a feminine manner that would make anyone second guess his position as a capable guard.

Regina and Emma were the only ones to ignore him, except for the watchful eyes across the room.

Emma noticed Regina's eyes on her mouth and genuinely smiled.

Regina looked up and saw the amusement on the younger woman's face, though she also noticed the exhaustion.

“I'll give you a kiss later if you return his tongue,” Emma promised under her breath as her lips occasionally brushed against Regina's when she spoke.

“Are you offering your tongue in exchange for his,” Regina asked with a small smirk.

“You'll find out if you do as I ask.”

A gleam more like one the Evil Queen would display swirled in Emma's green eyes.

Regina rolled her eyes and sighed as she raised her hand and dismissively waved it.

Rivers instantly yelped and realized it wasn't muffled as it had when he'd been without a tongue. He breathed heavily for a moment before he touched his throat then cleared it before he tried to speak.

“Your Majesty,” he huskily said as he tried to find his voice.

Rivers swallowed hard before he continued.

“I apologize for my blatant disregard. It shall not happen again.”

“It had better not,” Regina darkly and slowly warned with a penetrating gaze that could have easily set the man ablaze had the Queen chosen to do so.

Emma turned in Regina's arms again and faced the table.

“My parents, do any of you feel as though they are a threat,” Emma asked. “Do you think they'll be back with magic?”

Rivers glared at her.

“Your _parents_ are always a threat to this palace, to the Evil Queen. Though they are idiots so maybe we've got plenty of time to just relax before they decide to attack. I'm also quite certain that their attack will be poor and easy to defend against.”

Rivers arrogantly grinned at the princess.

Emma narrowed her eyes at the man, but she wasn't the one to speak to him.

“Take into consideration who just awarded your tongue back to you,” Regina angrily growled at Rivers. “And need I remind you to treat her with _respect_!”

“I know I do not run this palace,” Emma started just after Regina finished. “But I am as concerned about my parents' arrival as all of you. If I ask you a question, I would prefer you give me an answer.”

“And she shall be awarded one if there is one to be provided,” Regina added from behind her, her arm still wrapped around Emma's waist.

Rivers cast his eyes down to the table in front of him at hearing the Queen's words.

Emma proudly smiled and lifted her chin high much like the Queen did when she felt powerful.

Regina noticed as she remained behind the blonde. She grinned and moved her hand at Emma's hip to clasp her other hand as she brought Emma into an embrace, both her arms wrapped around the blonde's waist. She pulled Emma flush against her and shifted from foot to foot like a slow dance.

Before Emma could suppress it, her expression fell and she yawned. She raised a hand to cover her mouth as she did and the sudden intake of breath got Regina's attention.

Regina frowned and stopped swaying with Emma to turn the woman toward herself.

“You must be tired. Did you get _any_ sleep while you were out looking for my ring,” Regina asked.

Emma looked over her shoulder at Regina and shook her head.

Regina looked to everyone at the table and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a word out the voice that belonged to the watchful eyes in the corner filled the room.

“So sweet,” a woman's low tone came from the far end of the table. “You're willing to allow the daughter of your enemy to run your palace now?”

Regina glared at the blonde that sat confidently in her chair. She seemed relaxed and almost predatory in the way she stared at the Queen. It reminded her greatly of Maleficent.

“Of course not,” Regina replied. “But I refuse to let her be treated like some lowly commoner, especially given her stature.”

The blonde woman haughtily chuckled and curiously leaned forward in her chair, out of the shadows.

“Right,” she drew out the word in a playful growl.

Suddenly, Regina recognized the blonde. Her eyes widen as she gasped and clutched Emma tighter.

“She's a princess, dear,” the woman continued. “It won't end well. You should have just stuck to our little plan.”

Emma quizzically stared at the blonde across the room. She had felt Regina tense and pull her closer again like she'd done before when Emma assumed she'd felt threatened. She looked over her shoulder with the same quizzical expression then directed it at Regina. She didn't get the chance to ask the brunette who the other woman was. Regina answered her question before she could even form it.

“Maleficent,” Regina breathed out.

Emma's eyes grew wide in shock much like Regina's. She instinctively placed a hand over Regina's joined hands on her torso and squeezed. It was her way of doing what Regina had done in an attempt to keep the other close.

“How,” Regina asked, still stunned.

“How do you think,” Maleficent asked. “Rumpelstiltskin.”

The guards remained silent as they watched the exchange between the two women, their heads hunting back and forth between them at opposite ends of the table.

“Why are you here? This meeting is for _allies_ only,” Regina snapped with her usual bravado to intimidate, though Regina could tell – just as Emma could – that it hadn't worked.

“Relax,” Maleficent rolled her eyes. “I'm not here to stop you...or even seek revenge, though I should given what you did to me. Being a dragon isn't as much as fun as some would hope.”

Emma gulped.

“Then what do you want?”

“Same as I wanted before you forced me to give back the dark curse. ...You.”

Maleficent stood and sauntered toward the Queen.

Emma had never learned to wield a sword. She'd never even held a sword. Well, she had once, but when she whirled it around in her hand she nearly sliced her father's bicep open before he plucked it from her hands. Even so, she still reached for the sheathed sword closest to her from an unsuspecting knight and pointed the tip at Maleficent's throat before the woman could come any closer than the length of the sword.

Maleficent laughed.

Regina stared at Emma in awe. She could tell Emma wasn't practiced at sword wielding, but the gesture was enough to surprise and warm her.

“You will not have her,” Emma boldly insisted with a deep tone.

“And you think _you_ can keep me from her,” Maleficent incredulously asked.

It was Regina's turn to gulp.

“Whatever she's done with you, I can assure you she learned it from me,” Maleficent held her head high and smirked.

Regina averted her gaze, though she kept her arms around Emma.

Maleficent looked over Emma's shoulder and her smirk spread to a devious grin at the sight.

Emma briefly took her eyes off Maleficent in an attempt to look at Regina through the use of her peripheral vision. She couldn't, but she had to make a choice. Instead of turning to Regina, as much as she wanted to, she kept her gaze set on Maleficent.

 _Never turn your back on a threat,_ Emma remembered the words of her father on one of her first nights outside the palace walls.

“Your Majesty,” the Huntsman spoke up with a question.

Quickly, Regina's head snapped in the direction of the man that required her attention. Immediately, she looked around the room and regained her previous Queenly strength.

“Leave us,” Regina loudly ordered. “And take Maleficent with you.”

Regina's eyes glided from the Huntsman to Maleficent.

Maleficent just grinned.

The Huntsman stood, as did the rest of the guards, and he moved to grab the unwanted blonde.

Maleficent's expression fell to one of anger and repulsion at the mere thought of anyone escorting her out. She swatted the Huntsman's hand away before his fingertips could even touch her arm.

“That won't be necessary,” she said as she stared the man down.

The Huntsman looked between Maleficent and the Queen.

“Well, don't just stand there,” Regina yelled. “Remove her from my presence this instant!”

The Huntsman sighed and tried to grab Maleficent again, but she flung out a hand and magically sent him flying across the room. He crashed into the far wall, near where Maleficent had previously sat, and the air left his lungs upon impact.

Maleficent dropped her hand to her side and the Huntsman fell to the ground. She turned her attention back to Emma and Regina. She chuckled and waved her other hand in front of the sword. She magically yanked it from Emma's hand and flipped the sword around in the space between them. She took control of the sword with ease and held it to Emma as the younger blonde had held it to her.

Regina let go of Emma and, in the blink of an eye, she closed her fist around the back of her own red dress that Emma wore. She pulled Emma back and stepped in front of her before Maleficent could jab her with the sword.

“No,” Emma yelled as her eyes widened in fear.

Maleficent didn't thrust the sword at Emma, but she used enough force to do some damage. Though, she didn't bring that damage onto Emma as intended.

Since Regina had moved as the sword made contact, it poked and sliced at her collarbone. She winced and raised a hand to magically retaliate. Immediately, Maleficent dropped the sword as she gasped and flew back against the nearest wall almost directly behind her.

“You will _not_ lay a hand on her,” Regina barked before she lowered her tone to a growl before she continued. “And you will not be making it out of this palace alive.”

Emma hurried to rejoin Regina and stood behind her as the brunette had done earlier. She rested her hands on the Queen's hips.

“You have a dungeon, don't you,” Emma asked.

Regina furiously glared at Maleficent as she listened to Emma, the younger woman's voice in her ear as she felt the princess bring their bodies almost flush together.

“Yes,” Regina answered through gritted teeth as she kept Maleficent magically bound to the wall.

“Just lock her up. You won't have to worry about her there.”

“Have you not seen?! She has magic. She'll escape. She'll always be a threat so long as she lives.”

“She's right, Princess,” Maleficent confirmed. “And until I have what I want, I'm not going to leave either of you alone.”

“Why would Rumpelstiltskin turn you back into your human form,” Regina asked. “What use are you to him?”

“The only thing he said was how lovely it would be to see the show,” Maleficent replied with a grin.

“Show,” Emma quietly asked, confused.

Maleficent heard her, though she wasn't meant to, and curled her lips into a devilish smirk.

“He knew what I wanted. Regina broke off our... _engagement_ much too soon. He knew I'd come after her if I ever got my human form back so he paid me a visit, freed me of my dragon skin.”

“Engagement,” Emma sadly asked, her face scrunched up in disappointment.

Maleficent felt all the more prideful for it.

Regina narrowed her eyes and curled her fingers, which began to magically cut off Maleficent's air supply.

Regina turned to Emma with soft eyes.

“Not that kind of engagement. We were never to be married, my dear,” Regina gently informed her.

“My dear?”

Maleficent interrupted the moment and callously laughed.

“You're giving her a sort of pet name? How cute,” Maleficent sarcastically continued. “I guarantee she can't give you what I can.”

“Oh, please,” Regina snapped at her. “You're only jealous because I never called you anything special.”

“Of course not. You were still head over heels in love with _Daniel_.”

“ _Never_ speak his name,” Regina yelled as she tightened her grip on Maleficent's throat.

The unwanted blonde made guttural noises as she struggled to breathe.

“Regina,” Emma softly warned as she slowly wrapped her arms around Regina's waist. “I'm tired and I really don't want to see you kill someone.”

Emma looked from Regina to Maleficent and glared before she finished.

“As _awful_ as this woman is.”

Regina flicked her other wrist in Maleficent's direction and conjured a thick cloth to gag the woman before she used her other hand to make Maleficent's presence against the wall more permanent.

Suddenly, the cement wall pooled like wet concrete over Maleficent's wrists. Once the woman's arms were covered in the unset cement, it dried over her wrists and trapped her against the wall.

When she knew Maleficent would not be able to escape her hold, she turned in Emma's arms and cupped the younger woman's face with both hands. She smiled warmly at Emma.

“This is the one time I will ask you to allow me the cruel act of murder. I've been kind enough to go easy on the guards as you've wanted, but I _cannot_ risk letting this woman live,” Regina explained.

“Please don't do this,” Emma pleaded. “Remember how I see you?”

Regina sadly smiled before she nodded.

“I witnessed what you did to that guard last night. Though I didn't leave the palace because of it, I didn't appreciate it. It was hard to see you as Regina having seen you as...the Evil Queen,” Emma frowned.

Regina leaned in and rested her forehead against Emma's.

“But that's who I am,” Regina said.

“It's not.”

Regina looked down and smiled as she kept her forehead against Emma's.

“I haven't been Regina since I lost Daniel and was forced to marry the King.”

“But you _have been_ Regina. With me.”

Regina looked up and met Emma's eyes with her own before Emma spoke again.

“Don't you see?”

Maleficent chuckled through her gag.

Regina tried her hardest to ignore her. Emma did the same.

“You turned her into a dragon. Can't you turn her into something else, something less threatening? _Then_ you can lock her up, away from you and out of Rumpelstiltskin's reach,” Emma added.

Regina leaned in further and pressed her lips to Emma's with a smile.

Emma smiled into the kiss the second she felt Regina's upturned lips against hers.

Regina only let the kiss linger for a quick moment before she pulled back and broke it.

“You are a genius,” Regina slowly complimented her before she brought Emma back into another chaste kiss.

“Thank you,” Emma smiled.

“But I'll do you one better. I'll strip her of her powers.”

“Okay.”

“Though now I maybe owe you two,” Regina said as she slid her hands from Emma's face to the younger woman's chest and down to her hips.

“Two,” Emma asked with clear confusion.

“Two things that will make you happy. Can you think of anything yet?”

“Oh. No. Well, maybe.”

Emma shifted in their embrace like a rosy-cheeked, awkward teenager.

Regina smiled in response to Emma's adorable actions.

“You said you'd tell me when you knew,” Regina said with a light tone.

“Now isn't the best time,” Emma said as she looked at Regina then over the brunette's shoulder at the other blonde in the room.

The Huntsman coughed and slowly got to his feet in the corner.

Both the direction of Emma's attention and the Huntsman coughing pulled Regina from the moment and reminded her how right Emma was.

“Right,” Regina said as she turned to face Maleficent.

Emma let go of Regina as she turned. She looked over at the Huntsman and sympathetically smiled at him.

He gave a single nod before he made his way to the door behind her and took a moment to look over at Regina and Maleficent.

Regina flicked one of her wrists and removed the gag while she caused the cement to drip off Maleficent's wrists.

Maleficent fell onto her knees in front of the wall. She looked up from her position on all fours at Regina's feet. She chuckled with a smirk.

“You always had a love for bondage and control,” Maleficent quipped. “Anything to get a lover on their knees.”

Maleficent looked from Regina to Emma with a dark, satisfied gleam in her eyes as she slowly, gloriously, started to rise to her feet.

The second Regina saw Maleficent look at Emma, and in such a way no less, she began to chant in a strange language.

A spell.

Maleficent's eyes widened in recognition that Regina wasn't bluffing with her plan to strip her of her powers. She raised a hand to attack, but Regina was just as fast.

The chair Maleficent tried to throw at Regina was effortlessly deflected by its target. The chair flew back a few feet and slid the rest of the way across the floor to the other end of the room right when Regina finished the spell.

Regina held out her other hand and performed a careless grabbing motion before Maleficent arched her back at what Regina's actions caused.

A burst of green energy flared through Maleficent's chest before it crossed the space between her and the brunette.

Regina absorbed the flow of green energy through her fingers until the energy stopped and Maleficent lifelessly fell to the ground.

Regina closed her eyes as she took a moment to reel from the newly acquired power. When she slowly opened her eyes, they swirled with purple before her irises returned to their normal brown hue.

Maleficent looked up at Regina, breathless and disbelieving as she pushed herself onto her knees. She huffed out a sigh and tiredly stared into Regina's eyes.

“All of this, all the power you've worked for, all the times you and I talked about ending Snow and Charming's life together. You're going to give it all up for _her_? She is no more than a pathetic lay,” Maleficent spat. “If you've even done that much with her. She _reeks_ of inexperience.”

Regina snapped her fingers and a cloud of purple smoke swirled around Maleficent.

“I think we've heard enough. Time for you to go,” Regina growled as she victoriously watched Maleficent disappear in the smoke with wide eyes.

“You are _mine_ ,” Maleficent demanded with a raspy yell before the smoke claimed her.

Within seconds, the smoke dissipated and left Regina and Emma alone in the room.

Regina turned back to Emma with a small grin, but it quickly vanished upon seeing Emma's frown and downcast eyes. She took the few steps toward Emma that closed the space between them and cupped one of Emma's cheeks as she rested her other hand on the younger woman's hip.

“Emma?”

Emma took a step back, away from Regina's touch, and shook her head as she dropped her gaze further. She kept her eyes focused on the ground.

“What's wrong, my dear?”

“I shouldn't be here. You shouldn't... You deserve better than me.”

Regina furrowed her brow and felt a pain she'd never felt before. It wasn't physical and, though it was emotional, it wasn't the same as when she'd spent all those years under the King's control. She knew Emma probably wanted the space, which was why – Regina assumed – she had pulled away in the first place. In any case, she took a step forward and once again closed the space between them.

“What do you mean,” Regina asked as she shook her head, her face contorted to show the pain she felt for Emma.

Regina reached out and hooked a finger under Emma's chin before she raised it to get the blonde to make eye contact with her.

Emma still refused to look at her.

“Emma?”

Regina's tone was soft, pleading, more so than Emma's had been when she asked Regina not to kill Maleficent.

Regina dipped her head to try and meet Emma's eyes herself.

Emma sniffled and slowly flicked her eyes up to stare into Regina's.

Regina's lips parted in shock as she saw the tears in green eyes just before one fell and stained a cheek.

“I'm twenty-eight years old and I _know_ I want to give myself to you and yet...I can't. I can't and you should be with someone who can give you that. You should be able to enjoy the physical and I'm keeping you from that.”

“No,” Regina shook her head again as her eyes watered at the sight of Emma. “If that's what I wanted, if I felt that I deserved more than what you can give me right now, then I would have forced the Huntsman back into my bed or found someone else to please me.”

Emma sniffled again.

Regina unhooked her finger from Emma's chin and brought it under Emma's eye before she swiped away a tear.

“Twenty-eight, Regina?! Twenty-eight.”

Regina placed a hand on Emma's bicep and gently squeezed.

“We're going to continue this discussion in my bedchamber. I'm going to transport us, okay?”

Emma swallowed back a sob before she nodded.

“Okay,” Regina said no louder than whisper as she pulled Emma into a hug.

She cradled Emma's head against her chest and rested one hand on blonde hair and the other on Emma's back.

It took only a moment as purple smoke consumed them and took them from the war room to Regina's chamber.

Once they were there, Regina rubbed Emma's back a few times before she eased the younger woman away from her. She rested her hands on Emma's shoulders and tried to make eye contact with her again.

Emma didn't struggle that time. She met Regina's gaze in seconds.

“I would rather you wait until you're sixty if that's when you're ready,” Regina continued. “I didn't give myself to anyone. My innocent was taken from me, ripped away the first night of my marriage to the King. I value innocence, as I believe I've told you, and even if you're twenty-eight and you're not ready, I will respect that. And if it is me to you truly want to give yourself to, I will gladly wait. Although, I must admit I never used to value innocence before I met you.”

“I just...I don't know why I can't- Why I can't do that,” Emma said between shaky sobs.

“You...are more than I will _ever_ deserve, my dear,” Regina slowly confessed.

“But...But I- I want-”

“Shh,” Regina tried to sooth her as she brushed stray blonde tresses out of Emma's face. “You're tired. It's not as serious as you're making it out to be. I promise.”

“But I want _you_. And I can't...I can't let you touch me and I don't know why.”

“You're not ready.”

“My body is,” Emma childishly insisted.

Regina lightly laughed.

“But you're mind isn't. Those are two completely different things.”

“Sometimes...sometimes I think I can. Like yesterday. But then I...I don't know.”

Regina ran her hands down Emma's arms and pulled her toward the bed as she walked backward to do so.

“I think I know why,” Regina calmly said. “And if I'm wrong, so be it. It may help you figure out what's stopping you.”

When Regina's thighs hit the edge of the bed, she turned Emma and eased her onto it.

Emma sat down with Regina's comforting help.

“Tell me what's wrong with me,” Emma desperately demanded without any bite or force as she looked up through dark, wet lashes.

“There's nothing wrong with you,” Regina assured her. “Just lay down.”

“Maleficent is right. I'm a pathetic lay.”

“Hey,” Regina sternly tried to pull Emma's attention away from her dark thoughts. “Maleficent is _not_ right. Never listen to her. She only said that because she's jealous.”

“Jealous of what? I'm not worth it. I'm not a good princess, I would never make a good leader, I'm a huge tease, and it's just sex!”

Regina listened to Emma ramble and believed absolutely none of it.

“It's not just sex. But it's not something to over-think either, my dear.”

“Was it just sex when we were at the stables,” Emma asked, hopeful as she looked up at Regina again.

Regina slowly smiled as she looked Emma over and saw how small she seemed. It reminded her of the few times she'd seen Emma as a child. She had grown so much, but there were still plenty of things about her that, thankfully, hadn't changed. Somehow, she knew how to calm Emma when she acted like that.

“No. I've never gone that slow with someone before. I've only ever had the two relationships aside from my time with the King, which only loosely do I call them that, and they've both been about power. With you, I did just as you said I would. I let you in. I let you see me naked in the light. I took my time. I made sounds for you that I don't usual make because I'd trained myself not to, partially by force. ...No, dear. It wasn't just sex.”

Regina ran a hand through Emma's hair and watched the younger woman's eyes flutter closed due to the sensation. She smiled just as Emma leaned into the touch of her hand.

Emma, with her eyes closed, leaned forward and pressed a simple kiss to Regina's wrist. As she pulled away, she opened her eyes and instantly met Regina's gaze. She grabbed Regina's forearm and held it as she leaned in further that time. She kissed Regina and pushed the brunette back to get her to lay down on the bed.

Regina moaned as Emma kissed her hard and didn't hesitate to slide her tongue past barely parted lips. She gave in and allowed Emma a small bit of control as she slowly lowered herself onto her back.

Emma straddled one of Regina's thighs as she continued to feverishly kiss the woman beneath her, a hand still clasped around Regina's forearm though she pinned it against the bed to use that hand to hold herself up. She slid her other hand up Regina's torso and palmed one of the other woman's breasts.

Regina got lost in the feeling of Emma's hands on her and hummed her approval. She momentarily forgot the conversation she and Emma were having before the blonde stopped talking and started acting.

Regina pressed her unbound hand to Emma's hip and rolled the blonde onto her back. She mimicked Emma's previous position and straddled one of the younger woman's thighs. She pushed her tongue against Emma's in a battle for dominance over the kiss. She moved her hand further up the bed and felt Emma's fingers surprisingly still wrapped around her forearm. No matter how she moved, Emma kept her grip on Regina's arm.

Emma broke the kiss to breathe, her nose a little stuffed up from her earlier crying, before she went right back at it. She felt Regina grind against her, just a quick movement and only once. She didn't think Regina wanted to push her too far.

Emma was right.

Regina slowly came out of the haze Emma created in her mind. Right before she could pull away to reassess the situation, Emma lifted Regina's hand – the one she had control over – and brought it between them.

Emma released Regina's breast to hike up her borrowed red dress while she simultaneously slipped Regina's hand underneath it, between her legs.

Regina could sense where Emma's actions were going and tried to pull away both her lips and her hand.

Emma fought her as she gripped at the back of Regina's neck to keep her head in place with one hand and tightened her hold on Regina's with the other.

Regina groaned in an attempt to protest, but Emma didn't relent.

Emma spread her legs under Regina and forced the other woman's hand into her panties.

Regina balled her hand into a fist and trapped Emma's bottom lip between her teeth. She growled at Emma and bit with mild pressure. It was a warning.

One that Emma didn't heed.

Emma pushed forward and scrunched up her face in discomfort as she felt Regina's knuckles graze her center. When she tried to twisted Regina's hand and bring two of Regina's fingers inside herself, the Queen used her magic to shock their lips.

Without much of a choice, they broke the kiss.

Regina took her only opportunity and pulled back far enough to look down at Emma as she removed her hand from between Emma's legs.

“Stop,” Regina breathlessly ordered. “Emma, please stop.”

Emma sobbed before she opened her eyes and looked up at Regina.

“Please,” Regina said in a much softer tone.

A tear rolled down Emma's temple and into her hairline.

“What's _wrong_ with me?”

“Emma, sweetie, please let go of my hand.”

Emma blinked away a few tears at the sound of Regina's new term of endearment before she let go of the woman's wrist.

Regina kissed away one of Emma's tear before it could roll across the princess' temple.

“Nothing is wrong with you,” Regina reassured her before she looked over Emma. “I think the reason you're afraid to let me touch you is because you think I'll have power of you. Power you're afraid to let _anyone_ have.”

Emma gulped and looked to the side.

“But I want to give that power to you. So why won't I just give it up?”

“Don't do that.”

Emma immediately looked at Regina again and furrowed her brow.

“I love that you want to put that trust in me, but I don't want you to rush yourself into doing that.”

“I'll be ready. I _am_ ready,” Emma insisted.

Regina shook her head.

“You're not. You know you're not.”

“Just...touch me. I'll adjust.”

Regina nearly cried at how sad Emma's request seemed.

“You need to rest. You haven't slept since the night before last. You're not thinking clearly.”

“I want you,” Emma admitted. “I don't want to go to sleep.”

“Will you sleep if I stay here?”

Emma nodded.

“Then I'll stay here. Just give me a minute to arrange the rest of today's affairs.”

Regina pecked Emma on the cheek before she slid off the bed.

Emma reached out and grabbed Regina's arm. She pulled Regina back to the bed.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“Just to the mirror,” Regina pointed to her vanity across the room.

Emma looked over at the mirror as she continued to hold on to Regina. She gave a moment's pause before she stared up into brown eyes then let go.

Regina flashed a small smile at Emma before she walked over to the mirror and sat down in front of it. She waved her hand in front of the glass and in an instant, the former Genie appeared.

Emma's eyes widened as she watched Regina bring a talking head to the surface of the mirror.

“Your Majesty?”

“I need you to tell my guards to send all urgent status reports through you for the rest of the day,” Regina said. “They shall only inform you of the most dire situations such as an attack on the palace, especially by Snow White or Prince Charming, or an escaped prisoner. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the former Genie said before his eyes slid off Regina's form to the her bed.

He scanned his eyes over the blonde princess with a red dress he'd seen Regina wear on one or two occasions in the past. The princess' legs were spread and the hem of the dress bunched up around just above the blonde's knees. One of the former Genie's eyebrows spiked up toward his headdress before it fell back into place.

Regina looked over her shoulder to follow the man's gaze.

Emma caught the talking head's roaming eyes on her and pushed the dress down to cover her legs.

Regina turned back to the mirror with a scowl.

“Do not look at her that way,” Regina growled.

The former Genie focused solely on the Queen when he heard her order.

“Of course, Your Majesty,” he said as he bowed his head to her. “If there is an emergency, how shall I respond?”

“I will be here for the remainder of the day with the possible exception of supper at sundown. If I am to be reached, you will warn me in this very mirror.”

“Understood. Do you seek privacy?”

“Yes. If I am needed, you chime three times before appearing.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Good. Now go,” Regina said with a quick wave of the hand.

The former Genie disappeared and the mirror returned to its normal reflective state.

Regina stood and went back to the bed. She snapped her fingers and changed both herself and Emma into silk sleepwear.

“I know it's a bit early for these kind of outfits, but I prefer to sleep in such attire,” Regina said as she got back into bed and curled up beside Emma.

Emma rolled onto her side and faced Regina.

“I'm sorry I almost made you touch me.”

Regina ran her hand down Emma's cheek. Her thumb brushed over the corner of Emma's mouth before she let it slide across the blonde's bottom lip. She parted the younger woman's lips and smiled before she leaned in and replaced her thumb with her lips.

Emma let the chaste kiss fill and warm her. She felt safe and unhurried. She knew that was the reason she wanted to give herself to Regina. The woman showed a great deal of patience, though Emma couldn't understand for the life of her why. She still believed every word she said to be true. A twenty-eight year old virgin didn't deserve to be waited on, especially not in the Enchanted Forest. If Regina wouldn't take what she wanted, then Emma would do everything she could to give it to her as soon as possible. Though, that didn't work out for either of them when she tried it, did it.

“Stop thinking,” Regina said.

The sound of her voice brought Emma out of her thoughts. She looked at Regina and saw a smile on her face.

“Your eyes were glazed over and I could see your worry lines,” Regina added.

“...Thank you.”

Regina draped an arm over Emma's waist and held the woman close as they laid together.

“For what, my dear?”

“Waiting.”

“In case I haven't made myself clear, you're worth the wait.”

Emma smiled.

“Sleep,” Regina started. “We'll rest until sunset and then we can eat on the balcony.”

Emma's eyes started to droop.

“You did well today, my dear,” Regina commended.

Emma hummed.

“You brought back my ring, which I can't thank you enough for, you stood up to Maleficent in my honor, and you've shown me that who am I when I'm with you and who I used to be are the same person.”

Emma smiled and emitted a softer hum as she nuzzled her face into the crook of Regina's neck. She kissed the spot she burrowed into and draped an arm over Regina's torso.

Regina felt Emma's breathing even out without the next few minutes.

Emma had drifted off to sleep.

“Soon enough,” Regina said as she lazily played with golden curls.

She slowly started to let the worrying events of the day take their toll until sleep overtook her as well.


	10. Chapter 10

Regina felt a pressure on her hips in her sleep. She groaned and shifted under the weight only to feel something wet slide up her neck from the crook to just under her earlobe. That time, her response wasn't a groan but a hum. She parted her lips and turned her head to expose more of her neck.

The pressure Regina felt at her hips increased before it decreased. She didn't feel the pressure for a few seconds until whatever caused the pressure gently jerked Regina back and forth on the bed. The pressure engulfed her hips from her sides in toward the center of her pelvic bone.

“Regina,” a soft whisper of voice called out to the brunette.

Regina groaned louder and longer than she had the first time. She stretched in bed as she extended her arms above her head and arched her back. Within seconds of doing so, she felt a small pinch on her neck and a coiled grip around her wrists.

A tickling sensation teasingly swayed up and down over her chest. A pinch, a lick, and a soft pressure at her neck repeated a few times caused the tickling to persist in a bobbing motion.

Though Regina had started to stir, she still wasn't completely cognizant.

“Regina,” the voice asked for attention again, firmer that time and closer to her ear.

Regina felt hot air on her ear and emitted a small moan. As if out of encouragement, the pressure at her hips turned into a brushing motion and the attack on her neck continued with a bit more vigor.

“We're going to to miss it,” the voice breathed into her ear before Regina felt the weight on her hips adjust.

When the cause of the pressure to her hips settled, her legs felt a few degrees cooler and silk pajamas brushed against her.

Regina slowly approached the cusp of complete consciousness. It wasn't until she felt something sensually dip inside her that she gasped then moaned as her eyes shot open. Her gaze immediately locked onto a blonde haired beauty who had the biggest smirk on her face.

“What do you think you're doing, Princess,” Regina asked without even a hint of anger in her tone.

“Waking you up,” Emma replied with her smirk still plastered across her glowing face. “The sun is setting.”

“And you thought the best way to wake me was to arouse me,” Regina asked with a raised brow.

Emma's smirk turned devious before she pulled her middle finger almost completely out of Regina then eased it back in.

“I did try to call out to you a few times. I even shook you. Then I kissed your neck and I couldn't stop myself.”

Emma moved in and out of Regina at a slow pace with just the one finger even as she explained herself.

“I didn't say you could please me,” Regina said as she placed her hands on the blonde's hips.

“I really don't think you mind,” Emma spoke in a deeper tone. “You feel considerably satisfied with my actions.”

Regina proudly grinned at Emma.

“Tell me, My Princess, where did your intriguing confidence come from?”

“From the fact that I'm on top of you and you haven't pushed me off. _And_ you haven't stopped me yet.”

Regina's grin widened while she dug her nails into Emma's hips.

“You want to please me,” Regina asked, her voice thickly laced with lust.

Emma leaned in and kept her lips close enough to kiss Regina's, but didn't. Her lips moved against Regina's when she spoke, however, while she kept her eyes locked on Regina's.

“Yes,” Emma purred.

Regina almost shivered at the sound of Emma's voice.

“Will you allow me to teach you a few things?”

Emma nodded and brushed their lips together again in the process.

“Do you still wish to see the sunset,” Regina asked.

Emma stilled her finger inside Regina and frowned. She looked off to the side, as close as she could get to looking over her shoulder in her position, before she nodded.

Regina saw the sadness in Emma's expression and lightly laughed.

“My dear, I don't need a bed to be pleased,” Regina said as she moved her hands from Emma's hips to cup the younger woman's face.

Emma looked down at Regina and smiled.

Regina could see some excitement light up the blonde's features.

“Aren't you a sexual firecracker and you're still untouched,” Regina said with a grin.

“It only makes you like me more, doesn't it,” Emma stated it confidently, as though there was never any question about it.

Regina chuckled.

“Come now, my dear,” Regina tapped one of Emma's biceps. “There are lessons to be learned out on the balcony.”

Emma removed her finger from the woman and clambered ungracefully off of Regina.

Regina sat up and threw her legs over the edge of the bed with a shake of her head.

“Have your parents taught you nothing,” Regina asked. “What princess do you know that looks as unladylike as you just presented yourself?”

“Add it to the list of lessons you'll teach me,” Emma said as she grabbed Regina's hand and pulled her away from the bed. “I want to feel you. Now!”

Regina smirked at the urgency in Emma's voice and allowed herself to be rushed out to the balcony.

Emma stopped briefly near the center of the balcony to take in the soft and precious colors of the sky. She smiled and felt a familiar and calming warmth fill her as she basked in the glow of the sunset.

Before Regina had the chance to take any control, Emma spun around and backed her up against the wall near a corner where the balcony's banister met the archway.

Regina opened her mouth to speak, but Emma crashed her lips against Regina's. Instead of saying something, Regina hummed and leaned her entire body into the kiss. She wrapped her arms around Emma's neck and grabbed a fistful of blonde curls at the back of the younger woman's head.

When Regina pulled her into a harder kiss, Emma slipped her tongue inside the brunette's mouth without warning. She tried to claim every inch as she glided her tongue over Regina's then swiped across it to each side of Regina's mouth in exploration.

Regina moaned and flicked her tongue against Emma's as she tried to dominate the kiss. She kept one hand in Emma's hair and slid the other from Emma's shoulder down to the blonde's chest. She slowly moved her hand to Emma's left breast and only applied a feather-light touch with her fingertips against Emma's warm skin.

Emma moaned into the kiss when she felt Regina's fingers slip inside the silk sleep shirt and brush over her nipple. She slowed the kiss until her lips remained pressed to Regina's before she reluctantly pulled away with a hum. She opened her darkened green eyes and stared at Regina as the other woman moved her hand to Emma's breast.

“First part of the lesson,” Regina started. “Find out what your partner likes.”

Regina rubbed her palm back and forth over Emma's nipple. After a few moments of friction, she kneaded the breast.

Emma bit her bottom lip and pressed her lower half against Regina's.

Regina grinned and pushed the fabric off Emma's shoulder. She revealed more of Emma, though her hand still kept most of the skin from her view. She pushed her own hand out of her way and grazed Emma's nipple with her thumb before she moved in to suck the hardened bud into her mouth.

Emma gasped and pushed her breast further into Regina's mouth. She moaned when Regina hungrily claimed her nipple with teeth, lips, and tongue. She grabbed a fistful of brunette locks and held Regina in place.

Emma whimpered and fell into Regina, literally.

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma and held her in a supportive embrace. There was no way Emma could fall.

Emma clutched at Regina's silk nightgown at the woman's hip. She pulled it upward while she enjoyed every single thing Regina did to her breast. When she hiked the nightgown up to Regina's thighs, she moved her hand between the other woman's legs.

Regina brought one of her hands away from the embrace she held Emma in and grabbed the younger woman's wandering hand. She stopped Emma from going any further then detached her mouth from the blonde's breast.

“I really do want you to continue with this hand,” Regina started. “But there are other things I also appreciate.”

Regina kept a light grip on Emma's wrist and guided the woman's hand to one of her own breasts. She made Emma squeeze it and grinned.

“You like that,” Emma asked with a smile.

“Oh, yes, Princess,” Regina slowly purred. “And you did exceptional work with your mouth on them at the stables.”

Emma bit her bottom lip and her smile widened.

“Do I have permission to do it again?”

“That's what this lesson is for, is it not,” Regina rhetorically asked with a lust-filled and playful lilt to her voice.

Emma beamed and pulled the sleeve of Regina's nightgown off her shoulder and down her arm.

“You look like I just gave you the greatest gift you've ever received.”

Emma continued to smile at Regina, but hadn't verbally responded to the woman's comment.

“Will you tell me when I do something wrong?”

“You can't do anything wrong, my dear.”

“Fine, then when I do something less right?”

Regina chuckled.

“Of course.”

Emma beamed again and dipped her head to close her lips around Regina's exposed nipple.

Even though Regina had seen Emma move and knew the younger woman's intentions, she still didn't expect the woman to claim her nipple with such passion or urgency. She gasped the moment Emma took it into her mouth, but quickly arched into the touch.

“Good,” Regina purred as she placed a hand on the back of Emma's head and kept the princess in place.

Emma devoured Regina's nipple with licks, sucks, and nips. She alternated her pace from savage movements to slowed sucking every so often before she snaked her hand up to Regina's unoccupied breast.

“Very good,” Regina complimented when Emma's hand squeezed her other breast then gently pinched her nipple. “Harder.”

Emma listened to Regina and applied more force to her next pinch.

“Yes,” Regina hissed in pleasure.

Emma let her free hand roam and slid it down Regina's stomach. She stopped and held it in place while the heel of her palm rested just above Regina's clit.

Regina moaned.

“Keep going,” Regina breathlessly encouraged.

Regina hiked up her nightgown with the hand not in Emma's hair until she reached Emma's hand on her stomach.

“Down,” she ordered as she pressed her thumb down on the back of Emma's hand.

Emma bit down on Regina's nipple and did as told. She slid her hand further down the brunette's body and brushed her fingertips over Regina's undergarment.

“More teeth,” Regina instructed.

Emma scraped her teeth over Regina's nipple then took some liberties. She flicked the top of her tongue over the nipple between her teeth.

Emma hooked her fingers in the band of Regina's underwear and pulled the material down to the other woman's knees.

Emma kneaded Regina's breast with her other hand and grazed her fingers up one of Regina's thighs from her knee to her center. Her knuckles settled between Regina's slit and when she flexed her finger and moved it upward, the knuckle pressed against Regina's bundle of nerves.

Regina raised a leg and wrapped it around Emma's hip. She squeezed at the other woman's side, her knee pressed against the blonde's ribs, and pulled the princess closer. Her breathing was shallow and she failed to keep her eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time.

“Good girl,” Regina said with a soft, somewhat raspy voice.

Emma hummed against Regina's breast and felt the other woman arch ever further into her mouth and moan.

“What do you want to do to me,” Regina asked as she loosened her grip on Emma's hair.

Emma pulled away from Regina's nipple, but not before she ran the flat of her tongue over it.

“ _To_ you,” Emma asked then shook her head. “ _For_ you.”

Regina smiled.

“What do you want to do... _for_ me,” Regina rephrased and continued to smile.

“I want to satisfy you,” Emma innocently said as though it were the easiest thing in the world. “Will you tell me how to do that?”

“You're already doing a spectacular job, my dear,” Regina said as she reached out and cupped one of Emma's cheeks.

“So...can I...?”

Regina lightly laughed and moved her hand from Emma's cheek to Emma's wrist. She turned it and guided the blonde's middle finger inside herself.

“You already know what to do,” Regina said. “You did it to wake me up and you did it at the stables.”

Emma smiled and stared up a sensual rhythm. In and out.

“What else would you enjoy,” Emma asked.

“More of you.”

Emma slipped a second finger inside Regina.

“Is that what you meant?”

Regina smiled and nodded. She moved her hand with Emma's and pushed down on the heel of the younger woman's palm. She pressed it against her clit and whimpered when Emma brushed against it.

“Do you like that,” Emma asked with a smug grin.

“Very much,” Regina huskily, breathlessly said. “Kiss me.”

Emma happily obliged and met Regina's lips with hers. She slipped her tongue past parted lips without much invitation and they playfully fought for dominance over the kiss.

Emma smiled into the kiss and giggled when Regina tried and failed to take control of it. She moved her fingers a little faster and pushed a little deeper.

Regina gripped at Emma's shoulders and tilted her head back, effectively breaking the kiss. She moaned and rolled her hips to meet each inward thrust.

“Oh, _yes_ , Princess.”

Emma smiled brighter than she could ever remember smiling. She took a moment to look at Regina before her eyes found the woman's exposed neck. Her lips followed her gaze and she started to kiss and suck at the brunette's pulse point.

“Yes, yes! Emma, oh. _Emma_ ,” Regina panted. “Good.”

Emma pulled back to grin at Regina and admired the glow of the sunset on her skin.

“You look so beautiful,” Emma said before she started to lean in.

Regina opened her eyes seconds before Emma's lips met hers in the sweetest and simplest of kisses they'd shared. She used her leg around Emma's hip to pull the blonde as close as possible and wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck.

“You _are_ beautiful,” Emma breathlessly corrected herself when she broke the kiss.

“I'm close, my dear,” Regina said as the two of them shared the same air.

“Tell me how to make you feel good.”

Regina whimpered.

“That's your lesson. Figure it out for yourself,” Regina said.

Emma frowned, but kept up her pace.

“I don't...I don't want to disappoint you.”

Regina smiled with a stifled laugh.

“Darling, the only way you could disappoint me is if you don't finish, but that will really only disappoint my body. Do you understand?”

Emma nodded.

“There's something you want to do, isn't there,” Regina asked. “Something you want to _try_.”

Emma looked at Regina, stunned with an expression that read, “How did you know?”

“I can see it in your eyes,” Regina continued to smile as she answered Emma's silent, non-posed question.

“Do it,” Regina encouraged. “See if it's something I like. Don't you want to hear my appraisal?”

“Very much so.”

“Make me feel good, Emma,” Regina purred.

Emma bit her bottom lip then sped up her pace and pumped harder.

Regina pressed her head back against the cement archway and gasped.

Emma didn't hesitate to move in and attack Regina's neck like a predator would their kill. She bit and licked before she sucked on the exposed skin.

Regina weaved her fingers through long blonde tresses before she clamped her fist around them. She held Emma to her neck and moaned.

“Second part of the lesson,” Regina struggled to say between breaths. “Don't stop.”

Regina reached out and cupped one of Emma's breasts. She slowly, sensually circled the pad of her thumb over a concealed nipple despite the quickened pace Emma had slid in and out of her.

Emma felt a tingling sensation between her thighs and pounded Regina against the wall as she smashed her body flush onto the other woman's. She moaned against Regina's neck, which only made the brunette's touch more arousing.

Regina increased her pressure as she circled Emma's nipple then decreased pressure the next swipe she took at the hardened nipple.

Emma whimpered with much understood need just as she thrust deep into Regina. At the same time, her fingers suddenly became much warmer before she felt the warmth seemingly shoot out of her fingertips.

Regina emitted a loud sound just short of screaming as she came undone. She panted and moaned as she continued to roll her hips into each inward thrust a few more times before she chuckled and felt her trembling body relax.

Emma removed her fingers from Regina and adopted a somewhat worried expression.

“What did I do,” Emma asked almost like a timid child. “What is it that amuses you? Did I do something wrong?”

Regina shook her head and pulled Emma into a hug as she dropped her leg from the younger woman's hip and placed both feet on the ground.

“No, my dear. Did you feel what you did?”

“Yes, but I don't know what it was.”

Regina's hands wandered down Emma's back.

“Magic.”

“Magic? I did magic? But how could I if we were...?”

Regina laughed, but continued to move her hands down to Emma's backside.

“You were amazing, Emma,” Regina purred. “I wish I could show you what you did.”

Regina turned her head and kissed the crook of Emma's neck. She squeezed Emma's ass and pushed her fingers between the other woman's legs. She teased Emma's opening through the silk pajamas and felt Emma arch into her.

Emma moaned and pressed most of her body into Regina, but tensed at the shoulders. She placed her hands on Regina's shoulders and dug her nails in.

“I need to...need to-” Emma failed to express herself with what Regina could only describe as a panicked look on her face.

“Tell me what you need, my dear,” Regina purred again.

Emma appeared to be on the verge of tears as she stared into Regina's eyes.

“You still can't touch me,” Emma sadly said. “But I'm...unsatisfied.”

“Would you like to...touch yourself?”

Emma nervously bit her lip and hesitated before she nodded.

Regina smiled.

“That's okay, dear. I understand.”

“...May I,” Emma incredulously asked with a hopeful tone.

“Yes,” Regina nodded. “But I have something to ask of you. If you're not even ready for _this_ , worry not. I'll continue to wait, but...may I watch you?”

Emma blushed and felt an all new kind of heat course through her.

“Maybe even kiss you while you do,” Regina asked before she pecked Emma on the cheek then pressed her lips to the younger woman's. “And... _help_ you pleasure yourself?”

Regina accentuated the word “help” with her hand on Emma's breast as she traced a circular pattern over the less hardened though still perky nipple she'd teased moments ago.

Emma licked her lips and nodded.

“Can I keep my underwear on, though,” Emma timidly asked.

“Yes, my dear. Only show me what you're comfortable showing me.”

Regina took Emma's hand and gently pulled her back into the chamber. When they crossed through the balcony archway, she wrapped an arm around Emma's waist and tugged the blonde closer.

“Mm, you are amazing,” Regina purred in Emma's ear before she kissed younger woman's temple.

Emma smiled and bit her bottom lip. She placed a hand on the one Regina had on her waist. She turned a little more into Regina's body just before they reached the bed.

Regina spun Emma around to face her completely and grinned.

“Do you want me with clothes or without,” Regina asked before she gave Emma a quick kiss on the lips.

“I can't believe how attractive you are,” Emma said. “How do you always know what to say and how to say it to make me feel...”

Emma trailed off as she felt an uncomfortable wetness between her thighs.

Regina chuckled and eased Emma down onto the bed.

“That wasn't an answer, but thank you.”

Regina looked over Emma with a smile and slowly pulled the sleeves off her shoulders, down her arms, and left them to hang from her hips. She stood half-dressed in front of Emma with bare breasts and a taut, exposed stomach on display.

“No clothes it is,” Regina continued to purr before she finished undressing.

Emma licked her lips and slid a hand down to her own center.

“No, don't do that yet,” Regina said as she grabbed the backs of Emma's knees and pushed the blonde further onto the bed.

“But I can't wait any longer,” Emma whined and readjusted herself to get comfortable.

Regina laughed while she straddled Emma's hips.

“For as much as you've teased _me_ , I think this is punishment enough for that. I didn't take into consideration what it meant for _you_ if I didn't touch you.”

“Then let me do this already,” Emma pouted.

Regina smirked and pulled at Emma's bottom lip with her thumb and index finger. She leaned in and trapped Emma's lip between her teeth while she let go with her fingers. She tugged at the lip before she sucked it into her mouth and glided her hand down to Emma's breast.

Emma moaned and arched her back. She snaked a hand between them and cupped her own sex.

“Still eager, I see,” Regina said after she released Emma's lip.

“May I touch myself now,” Emma asked.

Regina grinned and fully lowered herself onto the back of Emma's hand. She started to slowly rock her hips and applied pressure on Emma's clit through the younger woman's hand and underwear.

Emma moaned louder.

“Yes, my dear. You may.”

Regina squeezed then kneaded Emma's breast as she continued to rock against her.

Emma whimpered.

“It may help if you move with me,” Regina said.

“Okay,” Emma quietly agreed, not much louder than a whisper.

Emma pulled her hand back up and Regina made sure to follow the movement, careful to only touch Emma with the other woman's hand between them.

Regina lifted herself off Emma's hand when the blonde tried to slip her hand in her panties. She waited until she saw Emma swallow hard then pressed herself against Emma's hand again.

“I... I don't know what I look like when I do this,” Emma nervously admitted.

Regina smiled.

“Are you worried I'll make fun of you?”

“Maybe?”

“Well, my dear, whatever faces and sounds you make will only flatter me. It will show me that even though I'm not exactly touching you, I make you feel pleasure. I _give_ you pleasure.”

Emma smiled before she bit her bottom lip as she slipped a finger inside herself.

“If there is one promise I ever make you, it's that I will try my hardest not to break your trust,” Regina added. “ _Do you_ trust me?”

Emma reached for one of Regina's hands with her free hand and laced their fingers. She brought their joined hands onto the bed with Regina's hand on top of hers. She had Regina pin her hand against the bed and looked up into beautiful brown eyes.

“I trust you,” Emma answered.

“If I do something you don't like or if I'm hurting you, let me know and I'll stop,” Regina said. “I'll remind you of this again whenever you decide to let me in, to let me touch you.”

Emma nodded against the pillow.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes,” Emma quietly replied.

“When you move, I'll move,” Regina explained.

Emma waited a moment before she slipped a second finger inside herself with a little struggle. She squirmed to fit the second finger inside, but she had been successful.

“If you can't take two, don't push yourself,” Regina said.

“I can,” Emma insisted. “It's at three that I have some difficulty.”

“Mm, noted.”

Emma moved out then slowly pushed her two fingers back in.

Regina felt the movement and rolled her hips in time with Emma's fingers. When Emma pulled out, she rolled her hips back. When Emma slid back in, Regina pushed forward.

Emma went slow. As much as she needed release, she had Regina with her. It made her hesitant, but she also wanted to enjoy what she could about being satisfied with Regina on top of her.

Regina pulled Emma's sleepwear away from one of her breasts and leaned in. She flicked the tip of her tongue over Emma's nipple before she swirled her tongue around it. She pushed her tongue down over top of the nipple just before she sucked the bud into her mouth.

Emma gasped and writhed beneath Regina. She started to speed up her pace, but she didn't realize it wasn't her who had set the new pace.

Regina pressed down harder on Emma's hand and guided the younger woman to a slightly faster speed.

Every time Emma pulled out of herself, the heel of her hand brushed against her clit and Regina pushed down even harder to make the touch against Emma's clit stronger.

Emma moaned and squeezed Regina's hand in hers.

“How are you doing,” Regina panted.

“I'm...okay.”

Regina frowned.

“We can stop-”

“I want to finish,” Emma quickly said and cut Regina off.

“Are you sure?”

Emma nodded.

Regina continued to move her hips with Emma, but paused before she abandoned Emma's nipple and kissed her.

Emma kissed back, but pulled away from several kisses to pant or moan.

Regina gave Emma a few chances to breathe between kisses and pecked her on the cheek, the corners of her mouth, and her temples. When her lips weren't locked onto Emma's as they moved together, she peppered the younger woman's face with affectionate little kisses.

Emma's breathing started to shallow and her body felt hot to the touch. She wantonly moaned and scrunched up her face as she sought out the climax of her pleasure.

“Relax,” Regina purred in her ear. “You just need to relax and it'll happen.”

Emma swallowed and whimpered as she tried to do as Regina said.

“I'm...I've never...” Emma panted as she failed to relaxed. “I've never made myself...”

Regina looked at Emma as the blonde tried to admit something. After she and Emma worked together to thrust into the younger woman a couple more times, she finally understood.

“You've never reached that moment,” Regina stated. “You've never felt that overwhelming pleasure rush out of you.”

Emma stared up at Regina and sniffled as she fought back tears. She shook her head as they moved.

“No,” Emma confessed. “I haven't.”

“It's nothing to be ashamed of,” Regina warmly said and squeezed Emma's hand in hers. “I hadn't felt it until our time at the stables. Until _you_.”

Emma moaned and it transformed into a whimper before her walls tightened around her fingers.

“I think it's...happening,” Emma breathed out, her eyes watery.

“Why are you crying,” Regina asked with concern and brushed away a tear that had managed to escape and stain Emma's cheek.

“I don't _want_ to,” Emma said. “I just... Stupid first time.”

Regina lightly chuckled.

“Well,” Regina panted. “If you cry this time, maybe you won't cry when it's _my_ fingers inside you.”

Emma smiled, but it only lasted a few seconds. Her walls tightened again and she felt as though she were standing on top of a hill, ready to tumble down it. She'd never felt that before so she assumed it must be what she did to Regina when she touched the other woman.

“I...I...” Emma never finished her sentence.

Regina brushed their lips together in an almost kiss.

Emma let out a strangled moan and arched her back. She pressed against Regina's center with her hand still inside her own panties. She rode out her first orgasm with a few sobs toward the end. When she sniffled again, she heard Regina's soothing voice close by.

“Shh,” Regina cooed between chaste kisses to Emma's cheeks and lips. “It's okay.”

Emma shook her hand out of Regina's and wrapped her arm around the brunette's waist. She pulled the Queen completely down on top of her and hugged the woman to her.

“Don't leave,” Emma cried into the crook of Regina's neck.

When Emma sniffled again, she smelled the intoxicating scent of Regina's hair. It comforted her a little because it reminded her she wasn't alone.

“I'm not,” Regina said before she turned her head in the crook of Emma's neck to speak into Emma's ear. “I'm right here.”

“Don't _ever_ leave,” Emma reiterated.

“I'll always be with you,” Regina said before she pecked just below Emma's earlobe. “But we will have to leave the bed sometime.”

“I don't want to go anywhere right now. I just...I feel kind of... _horrible_?”

Regina frowned.

“But you trust me, right,” Regina asked as she pulled away to look at Emma.

“Yes.”

“Then why do you feel that way?”

“I just feel...sick.”

Emma pulled her hand out of her underwear and carelessly brought it beside her on the bed.

“Is there something I can do?”

“I don't know. I just...it's not that I feel wrong about what happened, but...it's new. I don't know. I feel a little different and I don't really understand why.”

“Okay. That's fine, my dear. Why don't I send word for a glass of water or warm milk to be sent up?”

Emma leaned up and chastely kissed Regina's lips.

“Okay,” she nodded.

Regina had a servant deliver warm milk to her bedchamber and ran her hand through blonde tresses. She soothed Emma into a calm, almost sleep-like state and occasionally kissed Emma all over her face and neck.

“Guess the Evil Queen isn't so evil after all,” Emma smiled.

Regina drew patterns on Emma's shoulder over the blonde's silk top.

“You never thought I was evil, dear. You told me yourself,” Regina smiled back before she lowered her lips to Emma's shoulder, pulled the collar away from the spot where she had previously drawn out a pattern, and kissed it.

“I know, but it's a shame no one else has seen your kindness.”

“Well, I did kidnap you. I don't think that was very kind of me.”

“You didn't know it was me.”

“If I had, I still would have done the same thing.”

“You would have tried to seduce me,” Emma teased as she leaned in and pressed her lips to Regina's.

Regina grinned.

“If you showed any signs of attraction to me, yes.”

“Mm. Am I just a pawn to you then?”

“You should have been.”

“But I'm not.”

Regina shook her head.

“I would have taken what I wanted from you by now if that was true,” Regina started. “I would have ruined you and then dangled you in front of your insipid mother.”

“Hey,” Emma frowned. “That _is_ my mother you're talking about. If you like me, you'll stop insulting her.”

“She and I have a long, complicated history, dear. I will always insult her. You'll just have to accept that.”

“You said you'd be with me always. That would make her your family.”

Regina twisted up her face in disgust.

“Isn't that a shame. Here I thought I was just going to destroy your mother by taking you from her. I never thought I'd _like_ you. Now all I'm imagining is being a family with her... _again_.”

“I have ways to make you forget,” Emma smirked and pressed a hand to Regina's hip.

Regina chuckled as she leaned in closer, their lips so close though they didn't kiss.

“We aren't going to do that anymore tonight,” Regina told her.

“Your loss.”

Regina smiled.

“Um...since we're on the subject of family,” Emma nervously started. “Is there a way I can see if Red is okay?”

“That buffoon in the war room got into your head, didn't he. I'll have him sent to the dungeon for filling your head with dark thoughts about what may have happened to her.”

“I don't need you to punish him on my behalf, Regina. I just want to know that she's okay. She's my godmother.”

Regina took Emma's hand in hers and lifted it to her lips. She kissed Emma's knuckles and nodded as she carefully dropped the hand back down onto the bed.

“There might be. If she's in a room with a reflective surface, I can find her.”

Regina got off the bed and walked toward her mirror.

Emma furrowed her brow and threw her legs over the edge of the bed.

“Does that mean you can see me anywhere I go so long as there is a reflective surface?”

Regina sat down at her vanity and turned to Emma.

“No. That is why I don't want you to leave the palace. Not unless you have an escort.”

“But...if you can find her, why can't you find me?”

“I will explain everything later. First, I'll try to show you what has happened to Red. Come.”

Regina waved Emma toward the vanity.

Emma removed herself from the bed and joined Regina in front of the mirror.

“Sit,” Regina said as she patted her lap.

Emma smiled and sat in Regina's lap. She turned to the mirror and leaned back against Regina while the brunette wrapped her arms around Emma.

Regina rested her hands in Emma's lap.

“Would you like to find her yourself,” Regina asked.

“Can I,” Emma hopefully asked, surprised it was even possible.

Regina nodded.

“How?”

“Tell the mirror to show her to you.”

Emma turned to face the mirror again and took a deep breath.

“Show me Red,” Emma commanded and placed her hands over Regina's for support.

The mirror swirled blue and revealed a small portion of a room through a triangular opening.

“It must be one of the mirrors your mother has covered up in her palace,” Regina said.

Shadows moved across one of the edges of the picture the mirror showed, but no bodies or faces had been be seen.

Both Emma and Regina frowned.

“Let us hear,” Regina ordered.

Suddenly, sound came from the mirror.

“Stay with us, Red,” they heard Charming say. “You're gonna be okay.”

Whimpers and groans sounded from the same shaded area Charming's voice came from and Emma tensed in Regina's arms.

“We need to do something, Charming,” Snow breathed. “She's in pain. That shield. She did this. Regina. If Red doesn't make it-”

“I know. Snow, I know. But she'll make it. Right, Red?”

A low growl came in response.

“Her wounds, Charming, they're too large and we... We need the Blue Fairy.”

Emma shook her head.

“I did this,” Emma said. “Not you. I put the barrier up.”

“You didn't do this. It isn't your fault, Emma.”

“Yes, it is. I...” Emma looked down. “I want to take it down, but I don't want to leave you unprotected. It's why I made you help me put it up. I just knew something bad would happen if I didn't. But now, something bad happened to Red.”

“I might be able to help.”

Emma turned to look over her shoulder at Regina with hope in her eyes.

“What can you do?”

“I can try to heal her through the mirror, but...I need to be able to see her wounds.”

“There _is_ a simpler way than that,” the mirror spoke up.

“Hush, Genie,” Regina barked at him.

Emma frowned at Regina.

“What aren't you telling me?”

“If you go back there, I'll lose you,” Regina sadly said.

“What do you mean if I go back there? How can I go back?”

“It has to do with why I can't see you in the mirror. Will you trust me enough to do this the hard way? I don't want to do this the easy way because I _know_ I will lose you if we do it that way.”

Emma thought it over.

“Okay. Is there anyway I can help you do this the hard way?”

“I need you to get rid of whatever is covering that mirror. Can you tell from what little we can see which room they're in?”

Emma looked back at the mirror and studied the room. It took her a minute or two before she nodded.

“Yes, I think I can.”

“Then you can imagine what mirror we're looking through.”

Emma paused.

“Yes,” she replied.

“Good. Imagine the mirror as though we were looking through it from that room. Feel your magic within you and think about getting whatever covers the mirror to fall away.”

“I can use magic through a _mirror_?”

“As I've told you, you are capable of great things.”

“Can you do it too?”

“I can...but you haven't had a magic lesson today, nor did you have one yesterday as I recall. Let this be one.”

“Okay. Picture the mirror and what covers it,” Emma walked herself through it as she closed her eyes. “Imagine it...falling away.”

Regina took Emma's hands in hers in the woman's lap and laced their fingers, both their hands crossed over each other in an X.

Emma meditatively sat in Regina's lap with her eyes closed, but her feet remained on the ground. She stayed completely calm for the next couple of minutes. She felt a tingling sensation and opened her eyes to see the blanket slide to the ground and reveal the room. She saw both her parents tend to Red who lay in bed with several open, bleeding wounds.

“No,” Emma sadly breathed out in shock.

Regina squeezed Emma's hands.

“She'll be alright. I promise,” Regina assured her.

“How can you promise that?”

Regina didn't use words to answer Emma. Instead, she let go of one of Emma's hands and reached out to the mirror.

“You tell anyone I did this and you will be kept in this chamber for a week,” Regina said as she pressed her hand to the glass.

The glass rippled like water when she made contact, but her hand didn't go through it. After a few seconds, her hand glowed a faint purple.

Emma watched Red's wounds close up in front of her then heard her mother gasp.

“Charming!”

The prince turned and his jaw dropped at the sight.

Red's entire body glowed the same color as Regina's healing hand.

Emma's eyes widened when the glow faded away and Red slowly sat up. Her godmother groaned and Snow and Charming rushed to either side of the woman.

“You're okay,” Snow smiled and her tone sounded as though she were ready to cry tears of joy.

“But...how,” Red asked.

Regina pulled her hand away from the mirror and looked up at Emma.

“I healed her for you, you know,” Regina flatly explained.

Emma beamed at Regina and turned to sit with her side to Regina's front. She leaned in and pecked Regina on the lips.

“Thank you,” Emma said with her smile as wide as it had been before she kissed Regina.

“Consider it your birthday present.”

“It's a little late, but I'll take it.”

Regina chuckled.

“Are you satisfied with how she is now?”

Charming, Snow, and Red continued to talk and the mirror allowed Emma and Regina to hear every word, but it all sounded mumbled since neither one of them paid any attention to it.

“I am,” Emma answered.

“Then shall we go down to the dining hall for supper?”

Emma looked at the mirror again and watched her parents help ease Red onto her feet. Snow looked to Charming before her eyes darted around the room as if in search of an answer. When Snow's eyes landed on the mirror, her features changed from delighted to questioning.

“What happened to the blanket,” Snow asked.

Charming looked up to see what had Snow's attention. He looked at the mirror and Emma could swear her parents were looking right at her.

“Can they see us,” Emma quietly asked Regina.

“No,” Regina replied. “I have to order it. The Genie won't do anything I don't command him to do. That was the price of his wish.”

“Wish? But he's a Genie, is he not?”

“It's a long story,” Regina waved it off. “A story for another time maybe.”

“Regina, if you had something to do with this...” Snow started to threaten the woman as she approached the mirror. Her threat died where she trailed off and she started a new thought. “I don't why you would do such a thing, but if you _did_ do this, Red better not be poisoned or taken at a later time...like our daughter.”

“Regina couldn't have healed her,” Charming said. “There's nothing in it for her.”

“I can't think of anyone else capable of this magic except maybe Rumpelstiltskin. And I doubt he would have done it,” Snow argued before she turned back to the mirror. “Mark my words, I'll let the firing squad kill you like they should have before if I ever get through that barrier. We _will_ get our daughter back.”

Regina narrowed her eyes at the image of Snow and glared for a moment. She waved her hand in front of the mirror and the image disappeared.

“I told you,” Emma said. “Something bad will happen if that barrier ever comes down.”

“So far it hasn't. We'll be fine.”

“But that means I won't see my family again.”

“There's always a price to pay with magic. I suppose that's yours.”

“I don't want to choose between my family and you.”

“I wish I hadn't put you in that position then, my darling.”

“But you wouldn't change a thing, would you.”

It wasn't a question.

Regina tucked blonde tresses behind Emma's ear and smiled.

“Of course not.”

Emma leaned in and rested her head on Regina's shoulder.

“I really like spending time with you,” Emma confessed. “I'm not sure this is a relationship, but it's the best I've ever had.”

“Would you...would you like it to be a relationship?”

Emma smiled against Regina's neck.

“I would.”

“Then I shall take you out. Tomorrow. We'll have a picnic during sunset after your second riding lesson. If you want, we can have a magic lesson first thing in the morning then go to the stables.”

Emma hummed against Regina's neck before she kissed below her ear.

“I'm going to be courting the Queen,” Emma proudly said as she pulled away from Regina's neck to look into her eyes.

Regina cupped one of Emma's cheeks and swiped the pad of her thumb over it a few times as she smiled.

“Come tomorrow, I'll be courting the fairest of them all,” Regina replied.


	11. Chapter 11

“You're not concentrating,” Regina lectured in a frustrated tone.

Emma dropped her hands to her sides in defeat as she huffed out an agitated sigh.

“You lack motivation,” Regina explained. “You've done this before so I know you're capable.”

“How am I supposed to think about what I want to do without _thinking_?”

“As I said, motivation. You need to know _why_ you're doing it and keep that in the back of your mind while you do it.”

Regina crossed the space between them and ran her hands down Emma's arms.

“Relax,” Regina tried to soothe the blonde. “Let your emotions guide you. That is how you think without thinking.”

“I have to _want_ to move the object,” Emma stated instead of asked, though her tone suggested she wanted confirmation.

“Yes.”

“And I need motivation to do that.”

Regina smiled.

Emma looked at the apple on Regina's vanity then looked back at Regina.

“I guess I want other things more.”

“Like what?”

Emma smirked and a puff of grayish purple smoke engulfed Regina. When it cleared, Regina stood naked in front of her.

Regina looked down and shook her head with a smile when she looked over her bare appearance.

“Did I pass the lesson,” Emma cutely asked like a pleased child trying to get a cookie before dinner by sucking up to their grandparents.

“I sincerely hope you don't wish to see your enemies disrobed.”

“Only you.”

“Then you failed the lesson we were _trying_ to accomplish,” Regina started. “But you've succeeded in amusing me as well as performing at least some kind of magic.”

“Perfect,” Emma's smile widened. “Then I can try to perform _other_ magic on you. Like that magic I did at sunset yesterday.”

Emma wrapped her arms around Regina's waist and held her close before she leaned in for a kiss.

Regina raised a hand between them and pressed her finger to Emma's lips and halted the blonde's movements.

“Not until you move that apple from my vanity and into your hand.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“I don't see the importance of conjuring an apple.”

“Now it's just an apple, but in battle it could be a weapon or a shield. It's also practice for transporting objects...like you did to me during one of our first magical fights. You used magic to put me in that cage I had conjured for you.”

“Allow me to understand. I can try to do that magic from yesterday as long as I move an object from one place to the other?”

“I believe you'll have earned that right, yes.”

Emma wickedly grinned.

“Then I believe there are other apples that require my attention. The one on the vanity can wait.”

Smoke covered Regina again and seconds later, she reappeared on her back on the bed, her legs partially spread from the short, magical travel. Her knees were bent and her position almost made her appear to be waiting for Emma to come to her.

Regina propped herself onto both of her elbows and looked at Emma between her spread legs.

“Is this where you wanted me,” Regina asked with an intrigued and slightly proud grin.

“No,” Emma continued to grin before purple smoke swirled around her own body.

Emma reappeared with her hips between Regina's legs and her hands on either side of the Queen on the bed.

“This is where I want you,” Emma elaborated on her previous answer.

“Beneath you,” Regina asked, a twinge of sadness in her voice.

“ _With_ me.”

Regina brightly smiled.

“I could spend the rest of my life under you should we truly be together forever. If you need to always be on top after everything that has happened to you before you met me, it is where you shall be. I always want to make you smile all, if not most of, the time,” Emma said. “I want you to be happy.”

Regina never took her eyes off Emma as the princess hovered above her with her blonde tresses that cascaded around her fair skinned face. She lifted her hand and threaded her fingers through Emma's hair as she felt its silkiness.

“Do you want to be on top this time?”

Emma nodded.

“Then have me as I am,” Regina said before she laid back completely, her entire body on the bed then.

Emma frowned.

“I may be above you physically, but make no mistake, Regina. You and I are equals.”

“You are much better than me, my dear. You will always truly be above me.”

Emma shook her head.

“I think I need to show you something.”

Purple smoke clouded around one of Emma's hands and a hand mirror appeared.

Emma rolled onto her side next to Regina and held the mirror up in front of them. She snuggled up to the brunette and pecked Regina on the cheek.

“Look,” Emma directed Regina's gaze to the image of them reflected in the mirror. “Side by side. You and me. _Together_. Neither one of us has any more power over the other than that which we share. I don't own you and you don't own me. We're not possessions, Regina. And if you believed that now, I would still be in that cage.”

Regina looked away from the mirror to stare at Emma in owe.

Emma met Regina's gaze and set the mirror aside.

“This may come out wrong,” Regina quietly started. “But I wish I had been able to see you grow up.”

“Why?”

“Those few and fortunate times I could look into my mirror and see you...Emma, you are this magnificent and powerful light at the end of the darkness inside my soul. Whenever I saw you, I felt that light. When I could no longer see you, the darkness devoured me once again. I felt lost.”

“But now I have found you,” Emma smiled.

Regina laughed.

“Yes. Yes, you did.”

“Why are you laughing,” Emma asked, still smiling.

“I think you've been living with your parents too long.”

Realization dawned on Emma and she chuckled too.

“Right. The 'I found you' thing,” Emma started. “Maybe some beautiful queen will sweep this fair princess off her feet and the two shall live happily ever after in a grand palace.”

Regina smiled and stroked the pad of her thumb over Emma's cheek then leaned her entire body into Emma's. She pressed their lips together and hummed in response to the soft feel of them plus the warmth of the other woman's body. The kiss was chaste, but long. It lingered when Regina slowly pulled away, her smile still spread across her face.

Emma hummed, her eyes still closed, as Regina pulled away.

“I believe I earned the chance to find out what I did with my magic last night,” Emma spoke in a sultry, lust filled tone as she opened her eyes.

“You did,” Regina smirked. “But I'd hate to ruin our first date tonight with such enjoyable activities shared too soon.”

Emma pouted.

“I proved I could do what you asked of me in the lesson.”

“You're an ambitious one, aren't you,” Regina stated and pecked a kiss on Emma's lips. “Save it for tonight, Princess.”

“Fine, but only to keep myself from sounding like a whiny, sex-crazed and hormonal adolescent.”

Regina chuckled.

“You do seem an awful lot like a sixteen or seventeen year old sometimes.”

“Does that bother you?”

“It intrigues me.”

“Why is that?”

“You'd think a twenty-eight year old Princess would act more dignified.”

“I've been locked away behind a magical barrier all my life, forced to date men I felt nothing for, and when I _was_ sixteen I couldn't rebel.”

“No?”

“No. My father's health showed signs of decline throughout my later years of education. There was a war going on in a neighboring kingdom and our crops weren't growing as they used to.

“He worried about me and I always complained about the princes and other nobles my parents arranged for me to court. There was a lot of pressure on him and my mother and his heart started having problems again.

“Though I hated how trapped I felt and how angry I was with my parents, blaming them for my unhappiness, I still loved my father. I respected him enough to suppress those feelings until he seemed well again, which wasn't until I was twenty.”

“To hold in all those negative feelings for four years will do a lot of harm.”

“Yes, well, it all came to light after a particularly unpleasant date.”

Emma seemed only mildly upset with the night in which she described, though Regina knew there was a darkness associated with the words “particularly unpleasant.”

“For a while, I hated my father. I didn't actually hate him, but I hated his excuse. Every time I raised my voice or tried to argue with their choices regarding my safety, my mother would scold me because of his heart condition.”

“I wish they had done a better job,” Regina almost growled.

Emma quizzically stared back at Regina.

“What do you mean? You wish them to have made the barrier closer to the palace?”

Emma sat up with a frown and sadness in her eyes.

“No!”

Regina quickly shot up to sit beside Emma and gently, reassuringly rubbed the blonde's arm.

“Of course not,” Regina continued. “They defended their action of putting up the barrier and yet, it didn't stop those ungrateful men from trying to wrongly get close to you.”

Emma flashed a sincere smile that faded quickly, but she wasn't upset.

Regina could tell Emma wasn't upset. It didn't stop her from lightening the mood, though.

“Are you hungry,” Regina asked with a smile.

Emma smiled again, that time sweetly and for more than a few seconds, and nodded.

***     *     ***

Regina laughed, loud and long. It was the first time she'd genuinely laughed in a long time.

Emma wiggled around her foot over and over again to no avail. She looked up and glared at Regina, though both women knew her gaze wasn't filled with disdain or malice.

“It's not funny,” Emma said. “Help me get my foot out.”

Regina tried, but she couldn't contain her laughter.

Emma had gotten her foot stuck in the stirrup before she could command Rita, her recently acquired steed, to follow Regina to a new location away from the stables. Strange how it had only occurred after she'd gotten back on the horse after she'd dismounted only to pin Regina to a nearby tree.

Emma had still been pent up from not being permitted to touch Regina after their magic lesson before lunch and the brunette looked incredibly delectable on her own horse. She removed herself from Rita and pulled Regina off her own horse, careful not to yank her onto the ground face first. She threw Regina against the rough bark of the nearest tree and crushed Regina's lips with hers.

Regina had been the one to stop them and even though Emma wasn't too happy about it, she accepted it. Just as Regina had patience with Emma, Emma would not force intimacy on Regina.

So when Regina pushed her away and said, “Soon enough”, she and Regina both mounted their horses again. Emma tried to hit her boot against Rita's side, but her foot slipped and fell through the stirrup. She'd let out a loud exclamation that comically announced her failure and caused Regina's laughter.

Regina threw one leg over the back of her horse and dismounted. Though her laughter stopped, she continued to smile as she closed the distance between them and came to Emma's aid. She gently gripped Emma's calve with one hand and used the other to lightly push the blonde's foot back through the stirrup.

Regina looked up and caught Emma's gaze just as she freed Emma's foot. She then slowly ran her hand up Emma's calve.

Emma gasped at the feather-light touch and braced herself against the saddle.

“Regina,” Emma breathed out. “Don't start. Not while I'm on Rita.”

Regina chuckled.

“Afraid you'll hurt yourself? Besides, I'm barely touching you.”

“Yes, but the _way_ you're touching me is a promise for more,” Emma explained.

Regina stepped closer to the horse, which meant closer to Emma, and stilled her hand on Emma's knee when she leaned in and kissed Emma's thigh. She kissed Emma through the beige riding pants Regina had lent her, but it definitely made an impression on the blonde. She tilted her head back just enough to look into Emma's eyes and looked for any resistance from the princess. When she saw no signs of protest, she grinned and dipped her head again.

Regina kissed higher up on Emma's thigh and ran her hand from Emma's knee to the younger woman's backside. She squeezed as much of it in her hand as she could and chastely kissed even higher on Emma's thigh.

Emma gasped again and grabbed a fistful of Regina's hair above where a single braid traveled down the brunette's back. She gripped it with the anticipation of something she wasn't sure she was ready for, but her body seemed more than willing to comply with Regina's actions.

Emma squirmed as she tried to stretch out her leg and allow Regina access toward a part of herself she had yet to openly expose to the woman beside her.

Regina felt as well as saw Emma try to accommodate her, but she shook her head and took Emma's hand. She pulled it away from her hair and brought Emma's wrist to her lips. She kissed it before she gently tugged Emma toward her.

Emma bent over at the waist and leaned down toward Regina. Before she could ask Regina what the woman's intentions were, Regina's lips were on hers.

Regina didn't wait long before she deepened the kiss and slipped her tongue past parted pink lips. With one hand still wrapped around Emma's wrist, her other hand slid across the saddle to find Emma's untouched thigh. Her palm connected with the middle of Emma's thigh and she slid her hand up toward Emma's concealed sex.

Regina's thumb pressed against the inseam between Emma's legs and the blonde's breath hitched. She momentarily broke the kiss and leaned her forehead against Regina's as she took a few seconds to adjust to the touch then pushed forward with another heated kiss.

Regina squeezed Emma's thigh and moved her other hand from Emma's wrist to the younger woman's hip. Her hand pushed Emma's riding shirt and coat upward as she splayed her fingers over warm, smooth skin. To add more fire and passion to their kiss, Regina lifted herself onto the tips of her toes and battled Emma's tongue with her own.

Emma moved her hand around the back of Regina's head and wrapped her fingers around the Queen's braid. She pulled down on it and caused Regina to tilt her head back further.

Regina slid her hand on Emma's thigh even closer to Emma's sex and pressed the heel of her palm against an apparently sensitive part of the princess.

Emma whimpered into the kiss and pressed her hand to the back of Regina's neck, the braid still firmly in her grasp. She placed her other hand over Regina's as the woman continued to put pressure on the space between her legs.

Emma's hand on hers brought Regina back to reality and she broke the kiss.

Emma groaned at the loss of Regina's lips on hers as well as the feel of Regina's hands as they retreated from her body.

“Later,” Regina said before she headed over to her steed and remounted it. “We have a picnic to enjoy.”

Emma readjusted herself into safer position on the saddle and guided Rita to trot toward Regina. That time she successfully kept herself from getting caught in the stirrup, but quickly had to catch up with Regina before she knew where to go.

“Catch me,” Regina grinned seconds before she sped away from Emma on her steed.

Emma blinked away her shock before she hurried to follow after the Queen.

She whipped past several trees and other forest foliage as Regina galloped ahead. She watched Regina's braid bounce up and down as it flew behind her then smacked down between her shoulder blades as she rode. Every so often she'd catch Regina looking back at her before she noticed the other woman slow her pace.

When Regina gave her the chance, Emma rushed as fast as Rita allowed her and attempted to coax the horse into helping her catch the Queen.

“Come on, Rita,” Emma encouraged. “Take me to her.”

Rita continued at the same pace for a few more gallops before she sped up like Emma requested.

Emma gave a short, victorious laugh and widely smiled.

“Yes, Rita! Go!”

Regina looked over her shoulder at the sound of Emma's voice in the distance, a little worried she might be in trouble. When she saw the delighted look on Emma's face, she smiled as though the warm expression was infectious.

“That's my girl,” Regina proudly said to herself.

Emma took less than a minute to catch up to Regina with the help of Regina's slower pace and smiled over at the other woman.

“We're almost there,” Regina yelled to her through the wind that bustled past them as they continued to ride.

Emma looked ahead at where she was going before she looked over at Regina again and spoke.

“You're beautiful,” she exclaimed. “You're always beautiful, but now? You look so carefree.”

Regina beamed.

“You bring out the beauty in me,” Regina said.

Emma's smile brightened.

After they passed a few more trees, Regina navigated them both to the right then they emerged from the forest into a grassy clearing seconds later.

Emma looked around at their new environment and furrowed her brow. She and Regina both slowed their pace and the more she saw of the clearing, the more she thought she recognized it.

“Something wrong, my dear,” Regina asked as she came to a casual trot beside Emma.

“Have we been here before,” Emma asked as she scanned the area one last time before her eyes found Regina's.

“Yes,” Regina smiled. “Do you remember it?”

Emma opened her mouth to give one answer, her face still scrunched up in uncertainty, until she gave a completely different answer upon discovery. Her expression softened and her lips slowly spread into a smile.

“Yes,” Emma replied as she looked out at the sun that was moments away from sinking onto the horizon line.

“It's where we watched our first sunset together,” Regina said when Emma looked at her.

Emma couldn't stop smiling at Regina even if she wanted to.

“You must really like me to be this sentimental,” Emma said.

Regina hopped down from her steed and stroked a hand through his mane before she patted his side. The horse lowered himself onto the grass and rested.

“I must,” Regina smirked.

Emma bit her bottom lip as she blushed for a moment before she dismounted Rita and pulled her horse with her as she came to stand in front of Regina.

Regina reached out and took the reins from Emma then worked her horse whisperer magic to convince Rita to rest beside her own steed.

“If we're to have a picnic, will we feast on air,” Emma asked. “We didn't bring any food with us.”

“It's as if you don't know what I can do,” Regina said before she waved her hand and a deep purple blanket appeared with several plates of steaming hot food on top of it at the edge of the hilltop.

“Of course you would use magic on the first date,” Emma teased.

“Oh, but it's not me who wants to use magic tonight,” Regina kept up their lustful banter with a thick, low tone.

Emma felt goose bumps prickle over her arms and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up with excitement.

“You will allow me to, won't you,” Emma asked as she followed Regina over to the blanket.

Regina grinned over her shoulder when she stared straight into Emma's eyes.

“Definitely,” she purred.

Emma gulped and clenched and unclenched her fists a couple of times as her skin burned with unconstrained desire.

Regina knelt down on the blanket and patted the space next to her.

“Come, darling,” Regina amorously cooed.

“Later,” Emma replied as she smirked and sat down beside Regina.

Regina smiled at Emma as the blonde situated herself on the blanket and gave the princess only a moment to get comfortable before she leaned in for a kiss. She kept it simple and chaste while she felt soft, pink lips mold to her own plump, red lips. When she had to pull away, she did it slowly to fully enjoy their proximity and flicked her eyes up to meet Emma's emerald gaze.

The two of them sat close enough for Regina to count the freckles on the blonde's face, several tiny, light brown spots that cutely decorated her cheeks and nose. She ran the pad of her thumb over a few of them on her cheek then leaned in again and kissed one near the tip of her nose.

“I could never have imagined we'd end up here,” Regina quietly started. “That you'd be with me. For so many years I wished to see your face just once. I needed you, but...you were so small. Even if I had been able to see you, I couldn't ask you to be there for me. That would be cruel and selfish.”

“But you have me now. You don't need to think about how long you waited to see me. I'm here and I won't leave.”

“You can't guarantee that, my dear,” Regina said. “Though I wish you could.”

“Even if my parents stormed your palace tonight, I would not choose them over you no matter how much I love them. I want to see whatever this is between us through because, Regina, I've never felt like this. We've only known each other maybe a week and yet, I feel as though I've known you my entire life.”

“Well, you technically have,” Regina smiled as she started. “Between all the stories of me you've heard and that day...when you were six. ...You saw me.”

Emma furrowed her brows.

“Will you tell me now? Tell me why you can't see me in mirrors?”

Regina narrowed her eyes and grinned at Emma before she reached behind herself and grabbed a cheese square.

“Only if you'll eat,” Regina said as she held the cheese up to Emma's lips.

Emma chuckled and opened her mouth. She leaned in and sucked the cheese from between Regina's fingers. She playfully flicked her tongue over one of Regina's fingers as she pulled away from the other woman.

Regina's eyes darkened with lust as the two of them stared at each other during the exchange.

Emma grinned as she chewed, pleased with Regina's reaction.

“If you keep teasing me, I won't be able to tell you the story,” Regina admonished with a small smirk.

“Okay,” Emma sighed. “Feed me and tell me?”

Regina's smirk widened.

“Lay down,” she gently commanded the princess.

Emma paused for a brief second before she obliged. She laid with her back on the blanket and looked up at Regina as the brunette brought a bowl of fruit into her lap after she crossed her legs beneath herself.

“If only you could see yourself at six years old,” Regina started as she lowered a single grape to Emma's mouth. “You were adorable. You had less freckles then, but you had these wide eyes filled with wonder.”

Emma snapped the grape into her mouth as she playfully nipped at Regina's fingers.

Regina chuckled at Emma's behavior before she proceeded to tell the blonde about “The Incident.”

_Snow White talked with the dressmaker as Emma twirled around the room in her new dress. It was ever the form-fitting princess dress, emerald with twinkling white diamonds on the skirt that flowed out from the bodice. The sleeves were puffed up in the shoulders to match the fluff of the skirt, which was surprisingly not obnoxious or hindering like many other dresses princess' tended to wear._

_Emma ignored whatever decisions were being made as she spun around a few more times away from her mother and toward one of the other longer mirrors that resided in the room. She looked up and admired the dress as she ran her small fingers over the skirt and felt the fabric beneath her clenched fists._

_The next thing she noticed were her curls that would gently bounce and sway around her shoulders when she moved. She let go of the dress with one hand and tucked a finger into a few curls before she ran it down through the curls to her chest and momentarily straightened her hair in the process. When she released the curls, they sprang back into their original spirals._

_She stared at her reflection for another moment before she kept her arms relaxed at her sides. She waited another few seconds after that and tilted her head to the side as she questioningly stared into the mirror with an intensity that seemed as though she wanted to look through the glass and not at it._

_Emma stepped closer to the mirror and reached out with her right hand._

_Charming entered the room with a smile and went straight to Snow and the dressmaker. He inquired about the fitting and Snow happily told him it had been a success. They continued to talk more about something or another when Emma's fingers brushed against the mirror._

_The glass rippled like water as it replaced Emma's reflection with the shocked face of a brunette with chocolate colored eyes and plump red lips. Emma gasped under her breath as she curled her lips into a satisfied smile while she stepped back and looked straight into the older woman's eyes._

_They kept eye contact for another moment before Emma raked her eyes over the woman's form and drank in the sight of a dark red and diamond adorned dress with a black coat draped over her. The bodice accentuated the woman's chest, which Emma appreciated and didn't understand why._

_The woman leaned closer to Emma through their connection with intrigue in her dark eyes before a sweet smile spread across her features._

“ _Hello, dear,” Regina softly greeted, careful not to alert anyone but Emma._

_Emma smiled._

“ _Hello,” she whispered in response then curtsied for the woman like she'd been taught to do out of politeness toward royalty._

“ _My, my,” Regina quietly started to compliment the girl. “Such manners. But how do you know I am royalty?”_

“ _I didn't,” Emma continued to speak in hushed tones._

_Regina curiously looked at Emma._

“ _Then why did you curtsey?”_

“ _To show a beautiful woman respect.”_

_Regina smiled again and touched a hand to her chest when she felt it swell with the compliment._

“ _Quite the sweet talker, aren't you.”_

_Regina hadn't felt the need to make it a question._

_Emma proudly grinned and lifted her chin to hold her head up high._

“ _I can be just as chivalrous as any knight,” Emma boasted a little louder._

_Regina chuckled._

“ _How long have you been here,” Emma asked as she lowered her voice again._

“ _Well, dear, I'm not there.”_

_Emma frowned._

“ _Then where are you?”_

“ _In my palace. Might I say, Princess, that dress suits you wonderfully.”_

_Emma beamed and her cheeks flared with a rosy tint._

“ _You like it?”_

“ _Very much,” Regina smiled._

“ _Um,” Emma nervously averted her eyes and continued to blush as she twisted her body side to side. “May I join you in your palace?”_

_Emma looked up through eyelash hooded eyes and stilled her awkward dance as she expectantly stared at Regina._

_Regina's smile faded and she shook her head._

“ _No, dear, I'm afraid you can't.”_

“ _Why not,” Emma whined._

_Regina looked over Emma's shoulder at Snow and Charming before she decided it was safe enough to continue talking with the blonde. She looked at Emma again and pressed a pointed finger to her own lips._

“ _Shh,” Regina warned._

_Emma looked back at her parents for a moment while Regina shushed her then turned back to the woman in the mirror._

“ _We don't want them to know we're talking,” Regina explained._

_Emma nodded her understanding._

“ _I wish you could join me, Princess, but it would not be wise for you to see me.”_

“ _You're the one sitting in the mirror,” Emma defensively pointed out._

_Regina quietly laughed._

“ _Indeed I am,” Regina replied as her laughter slowly subsided._

“ _You have a pretty laugh,” Emma commented._

“ _As do you,” Regina smoothly spoke like warm honey._

“ _You know how I laugh,” Emma disbelievingly asked._

_Regina nodded._

“ _Just as I know what you want for your birthday.”_

“ _Oh,” Emma exclaimed as excitedly as she could when whispering. “Will you come to my birthday ball? It's in three days time!”_

“ _Are you inviting me?”_

_Emma animatedly nodded with a large smile._

“ _I'll try my best to be there then,” Regina smiled back._

_Emma's chest deflated with a sigh of relief while she beamed as brightly as possible without hurting herself._

_Regina had never seen such a big smile before and definitely not directed at her, especially due to something she had said or done. Not even Snow White had looked at her like that whenever Regina had agreed to do something on Snow's sudden whim as child._

“ _Are you sure I can't join you at your palace now,” Emma asked, extremely hopeful._

“ _Yes, I'm sure,” Regina slowly and apologetically said._

“ _But I want to see you. ...Alone.”_

_Regina's eyebrows shot up toward her hairline._

“ _I want to talk you without keeping it a secret. How do I find you?”_

“ _You don't.”_

“ _Will you find me at the ball?”_

“ _Yes.”_

“ _Do you know where I am now?”_

_Regina nodded._

“ _Then come to me.”_

“ _I can't.”_

“ _If I can see you, you can surly come to me,” Emma frowned._

“ _Don't frown, dear Princess. I can't come to you because your parents need you there without me.”_

“ _No, they don't,” Emma insisted. “I bet I could come to you in this dress and they wouldn't care.”_

“ _I wouldn't bet that.”_

“ _I want to see you,” Emma stomped her foot._

“ _You_ do _see me,” Regina calmly said. “Are we not looking at each other right now?”_

“ _That's not how I want to see you,” Emma pleadingly said as she took another step toward the mirror and reached out again._

_Regina's eyes widened._

“ _Emma, don't,” Regina warned, her voice louder than she wanted it to be for the very reason that took place when Emma's hand touched the mirror._

_Snow and Charming whipped their heads in Emma's direction and gasped._

_Charming bolted toward Emma while Snow lifted her dress and hurried after him._

“ _Emma,” Charming yelled. “Get away from the mirror!”_

_Emma didn't even turn around. She kept her attention solely on Regina as her hand slid through the glass that suddenly seemed nonexistent. She smiled and moved a little quicker to get the rest of herself through the mirror._

_Regina hesitantly reached out for the hand that extended through her side of the mirror. She couldn't be bothered to acknowledge Snow and Charming's panic as she looked into soulful green eyes._

“ _Emma!”_

_Charming frantically wrapped an arm around Emma's waist and yanked her away from the mirror._

_Regina's fingers almost touched Emma's when the girl was torn away from her side of the mirror._

“ _Daddy, no!”_

_Charming set Emma down with his back to the mirror and Snow stopped behind Emma then held her back. Charming turned to the mirror again and raised his voice in a commanding way._

“ _Stay away from our daughter!”_

“ _If she wants to be with me then she will be,” Regina growled. “You can't deny her what she wants.”_

“ _Of course not,” Charming loudly agreed. “But we can keep her safe. You are_ not _what she wants. She doesn't even know you!”_

“ _That didn't stop her from trying to find me,” Regina smugly argued._

“ _She will_ never _find you,” Charming spat._

“ _Regina, you will live the rest of your banishment without another chance at taking our daughter from us,” Snow said as she fought to keep Emma in her arms as the blonde squirmed and wiggled in her hold._

_Regina breathed heavily and rapidly as she glared at Snow White, the bane of her existence._

“ _Regina,” Emma called out._

_Regina instantly softened and looked at the little girl._

_Emma sadly stared at her as she tried to free herself from her mother's grip around her chest and waist._

“ _Soon enough,” Regina promised with a small, bittersweet smile._

“ _Not a chance,” Charming growled and lunged for the mirror as he unsheathed his sword._

“ _Regina,” Emma screamed._

_Charming raised his sword and brought it down in an attempt to strike through it, but Regina waved her hand in front of the mirror and her image disappeared. Charming hit nothing but glass and broke the mirror. He instantly pulled back and shielded himself from the shattered glass as it fell then turned back to his family._

_Snow had flushed a shade paler while Emma's chest heaved with the promise of tears to come as she frowned and glared at her father._

Emma laid on her side on the blanket with Regina in front of her on her side as well. She stared into familiar chocolate eyes and tucked a loose strand of brunette hair that had escaped Regina's braid behind the other woman's ear.

“I don't even remember seeing you,” Emma quietly said. “All I remember about that day is looking in the mirror and then I did something wrong because my father pulled me back. I argued with him about something, I guess it was about you, and then he clutched his chest. My mother had the dressmaker call the Blue Fairy to help him.”

“They didn't just call the Blue Fairy to help him,” Regina sadly said.

Emma frowned.

“What else happened,” she asked as she inched closer to Regina on the blanket as an orange glow colored their faces through the sunset.

“There were so many mirrors in your palace. I looked through another one less than two minutes later to see you again.”

“I don't remember looking into any more mirrors that day.”

“Because you didn't.”

“Then how come I saw you the first time?”

“You weren't supposed to be able to. That was all you, my dear.”

“I used magic then?”

“That's the only way I can explain it. I didn't ask to be seen. I _never_ did any of the times I looked in on you. It was the first and last time you saw me.”

“Okay, so the Blue Fairy came to help my father and then...?”

“Snow, your mother, explained what happened before he collapsed. She asked if there was any way they could keep me from seeing you and the Blue Fairy said to cover all the mirrors.”

“That doesn't explain why you couldn't see me when I was looking for your ring.”

“That's because I wasn't finished,” Regina smiled as she playfully poked Emma in the ribs.

Emma giggled and pulled away from Regina's tickling touch.

“Snow said you would try to pull down all the blankets they put up if all they did was cover the mirrors. She said they needed a spell so...” Regina trailed off, unable to continue.

“What? They what?”

Regina sucked in a deep breath before she continued.

“They used a spell on _you_.”

“What,” Emma sadly asked as her expression went from curious to horrified.

“They used an enhanced protection spell of sorts to make it so I could never see you through any reflective surfaces. The spell blocks your reflection from any magical interference.”

“Can you still my parents?”

“Yes, but even if you're with them, I cannot see _you_.”

Emma frowned and rolled onto her back to look up at the sky.

“How dare they do this to me. Use magic on me. I didn't give them permission to violate me like that!”

“It's my fault, Emma,” Regina said as she propped herself on her elbow and leaned closer to Emma.

Regina placed a hand over Emma's left arm as the blonde rested her left hand on her stomach.

“It doesn't matter. You weren't the one that used magic on me.”

“And if I did?”

“Did you,” Emma worriedly asked as she slightly turned her head to look up at Regina.

Regina shook her head.

“But if I ever did use magic on you...for one reason or another, would you be upset with me?”

“That would depend on if I give you permission to do so. Would you give me a choice?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then I wouldn't be upset if you did it _after_ I agreed to let you.”

Regina smiled.

“I'm glad,” Regina said before she leaned down and chastely kissed Emma on the lips. “Because one day I plan to let you feel what you did to me last night.”

Emma grinned.

“Which reminds me,” Emma started as she rolled onto Regina and forced the woman onto her back on the blanket. “We've had food, we've talked, I've had both my magic and riding lessons...I want to try my latest trick out. And this time, I want to do it on purpose.”

“Princess,” Regina feigned shock and innocence. “I don't allow myself to be touched on the first date.”

Emma laughed.

“We've already started this relationship backwards anyway. Why not let me make you feel good right now?”

“You can do that without touching me,” Regina seriously said before she returned to their banter. “But I also want to wait just a little longer.”

Emma groaned.

“I've wanted to touch you all day,” Emma almost whined.

“In due time, my dear,” Regina pulled Emma down to her for a longer lasting kiss.

Emma took initiative and pushed her tongue against Regina's bottom lip in an attempt to gain entrance.

Regina turned her head and broke the kiss, but that didn't stop Emma from kissing other parts of her.

Emma's lips immediately found Regina's neck. She kissed her way down to Regina's collarbone.

Regina's breathing became shallow and for every time she tried to push Emma away, she pulled Emma back to her.

Emma trailed kisses from Regina's collarbone to her chest and wasted no time before she gripped Regina's riding clothes and tried to expose more of the woman's right breast.

“Emma,” Regina breathed out.

Emma hummed against Regina's skin and managed to free Regina's breast.

Regina instinctively arched her back to push her breast into Emma's mouth and moaned.

Emma sucked Regina's bare nipple into her mouth and slid her hand up Regina's other side until her hand reached Regina's covered breast. She massaged Regina's breast through the material of Regina's low cut riding shirt while she lightly scraped her teeth over the nipple in her mouth.

Regina moaned again and ran her hand up Emma's back until she could tangle it in blonde tresses. She gripped a fistful of Emma's hair and bucked her hips to press her lower half more firmly into Emma from lack of contact.

“Emma, I... Wait,” Regina panted.

Emma emitted a sad whimper like a whiny puppy that wanted something and released Regina's nipple as she pulled back.

“What's wrong,” Emma asked with a frown.

“Nothing. I just want to give you something before we continue,” Regina said as she pushed Emma back a little more and covered up the breast Emma had exposed.

“What could you possibly give me? You've already given me plenty.”

Regina smiled and a puff of purple smoke appeared between them. When it cleared, Emma lit up.

“You remembered?”

“Of course I did, my dear,” Regina said. “I tried to give this to you on your sixth birthday at the ball, but I couldn't see you and I couldn't get to you because of the barrier and the Blue Fairy's spell.”

Emma beamed at Regina then looked down again at her gift. Regina held an ornate, leather-bound book against her stomach between them. She grabbed the front cover and opened the book without removing it from Regina's stomach.

“All the stories are here,” Emma exclaimed with wonder as she flipped through the pages. “How did you ever remember all the stories my _parents_ told me before bed? Not all of them were about you.”

Regina smiled.

“Yes, well, it required a bit of an effort on my part. Some of the words might not be exact, but I tried my best to keep them as close to what you heard.”

“This is...it's all I wanted for my sixth birthday,” Emma said a moment before she threw herself down on Regina and hugged her, the book crushed between them.

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's back and hugged her back.

“I take it you like your gift?”

“Yes! A thousand times yes,” Emma exclaimed against Regina's neck as she started to pull back for a look into chocolate eyes.

“Good,” Regina's smile widened. “Although, over the years, I did _add_ to it.”

“Really?”

“How many different stories did your parents tell you about princes and princess finding True Love before bed, dear? I only remember four or five different variations on the 'boy meets girl' tale.”

“Yeah, after a while they just kept telling me _their_ story,” Emma lightly laughed.

“Yes, _that one_ I got down verbatim.”

Emma chuckled. When her laughter subsided, she furrowed her brow.

“Wait,” Emma started as she realized something. “I thought you said you didn't look in on me a lot.”

“I didn't.”

“Then how could you know every story my parents ever told me at bedtime?”

“I might not have _all_ the stories written down, but you talked about it a lot before your birthday. After your third time trying to tell your oblivious mother, 'it would be nice to have these written out' and using various other hints she failed to pick up on, I may have overstepped my bounds and tried to see you before bed so I could hear the stories too.”

“That is only _slightly_ bothersome,” Emma said.

“I gave you what you wanted, didn't I? You should be thankful. A lot of time went into that ridiculous book.”

“It's not ridiculous,” Emma smiled as she removed the book from Regina's stomach and set it aside with the remnants of their food from their earlier picnic. “I love it. What other stories did you add?”

“Stories of a female knight and a princess, two princesses, and a Queen in search of something she felt but couldn't see.”

“Did the Queen every find what she searched for?”

“That story is still being written,” Regina smirked as she draped her arms over Emma's shoulders and pulled Emma down on top of her.

Emma grinned and kissed Regina. She kept the kiss sweet at first then pushed for passion when she begged Regina for entrance with her tongue.

Regina didn't deny her that time. She parted her lips and snaked her tongue out to meet Emma's halfway, but Emma met her full force and Regina barely slid her tongue past her own bottom lip before their tongues touched.

Emma slipped a hand between them and ran it over Regina's stomach. She rubbed it between Regina's legs over the other woman's dark riding pants.

Regina moaned, something she didn't have to force for Emma's benefit that time, and arched into Emma's touch.

Emma hummed into the next kiss when Regina kneaded and massaged both of her breasts. She positioned her knee between Regina's legs and shifted up. Her knee pressed against her own hand and added to the pressure against Regina's covered sex.

“Em-ma,” Regina breathed out as she threw her head back and rocked her hips against Emma's hand.

Regina's hands fell away from Emma's breasts and she held them above her own head on the blanket.

Emma kissed down the column of Regina's throat to the valley between Regina's breasts and back up to the breast Emma hadn't previously sucked before Regina had given her the book.

Regina writhed beneath Emma and slid her hands off the blanket to grip one of Emma's shoulders and the other raked up Emma's spine through the riding coat she'd let the blonde borrow.

Emma pulled her hand up to Regina's lower abdomen then plunged her fingers into the waistband of Regina's pants. She instantly felt the wetness that pooled between Regina's legs and victoriously took Regina's nipple into her mouth.

Regina moaned and grabbed a fistful of Emma's hair to keep the princess pressed hard against her breast.

“Teeth, dear,” Regina panted.

Emma bit down hard on Regina's breast, enough to sting, at the same time she pressed her fingers to Regina's clit.

Regina screamed out her approval and jolted into Emma for more.

Emma slid her fingers further down and teased Regina for a second before she slipped two fingers inside the more than ready Queen. She sucked and licked to soothe the bite she'd given Regina's breast before she pulled down the other side of Regina's top and went back to sucking the nipple she'd worked on earlier. She circled over Regina's abandoned nipple with her thumb and bit down a little softer on Regina's other nipple.

Regina rocked in time with Emma as they moved together. She rolled her hips to meet every single one of Emma's thrusts.

Emma rubbed the heel of her palm against Regina's clit and heard the other woman moan.

“Faster,” Regina whimpered.

Emma pumped into Regina with a little more force when she picked up the pace.

“Gods, yes,” Regina moaned when her walls tightened around Emma's fingers.

Emma pulled her mouth away from Regina's nipple and smirked at the brunette.

“Are you making those sounds because I asked you to or are they genuine,” Emma panted out her question.

“Genuine,” Regina exclaimed as she wrapped a leg around Emma's waist and forced Emma flush down on top of her. “Go wild, Emma. Drive me up the wall like yesterday.”

Emma grinned and crashed her lips against Regina's in a rough, breathy kiss. Their teeth gnashed and their tongues dueled for nothing in particular as they wrestled with each other.

Emma thrust as deep into Regina as she could with two fingers before she worked a third finger inside the other woman. An additional, stronger warmth started to build up between Regina's legs.

Regina whimpered louder and with a much greater need than before.

“Yes. Yes, Emma!”

Emma moved down from Regina's mouth to the woman's neck and licked, sucked, and nipped the skin over strained muscles. She felt the warmth between Regina's legs emanate from her own hand and when she felt Regina's walls tighten around her fingers again, the warmth flooded out of her fingertips and into Regina.

Regina cried out in pleasure as her skin heated up from the inside out, her body increasingly hot under Emma's touch. It lasted much longer and surged throughout her entire body, not just in her sex, unlike the last time Emma had performed that kind of magic.

“Oh! Yes, yes. Yes!”

Regina's heart swelled and she opened her eyes to see the very last colors of the sunset. She panted as she felt herself let go and her own warmth dripped onto Emma's fingers.

“Beautiful,” Regina sighed with a satisfied smile.

“What is,” Emma breathlessly asked as she slid up Regina's body, her fingers still buried in the Queen.

“You and everything you just gave me,” Regina said as she affectionately ran her hand through Emma's hair.

“I gave you something?”

Regina nodded.

“A taste of the light inside you,” Regina answered Emma's next question before the blonde could ask it. “I can always see it in your eyes, but your magic leaves a specific trace, a signature.”

“Light?”

“The kind of light that fills even the darkest hearts with hope and goodness.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“It means...my body has felt cold and empty for such a long time. I've often times thought I was merely a shell of my former self, the one that Daniel knew. You filled the devoid cavern of my body with the parts of yourself you wanted me to feel.”

“I gave you all of me,” Emma breathlessly confessed. “I felt that.”

“I know,” Regina tiredly smiled at Emma. “You are absolutely breath-taking and inexplicably amazing.”

“Way to inflate a shy princess' ego,” Emma grinned.

“Would you care for a taste?”


	12. Chapter 12

_Beautiful,” Regina sighed with a satisfied smile._

“ _What is,” Emma breathlessly asked as she slid up Regina's body, her fingers still buried in the Queen._

“ _You and everything you just gave me,” Regina said as she affectionately ran her hand through Emma's hair._

“ _I gave you something?”_

_Regina_ _nodded._

“ _Would you care for a taste?”_

Emma bit her bottom lip as she smirked down at Regina. After a few seconds, she shook her head with her smirk still firmly in place.

“Not yet,” Emma answered her. “There's still some sunlight to be enjoyed.”

Emma buttoned up Regina's riding pants and fixed the other woman's shirt so the brunette laid covered on the blanket.

“Just lay with me,” Emma said as she snuggled into Regina's side and rested her head on the woman's chest.

Emma draped an arm over Regina's stomach and stared up at the dim color that transitioned from sunset to dusk.

Regina smiled when she felt Emma settle down with her on the blanket. She wrapped an arm around the blonde and held her close. The two of them watched the sky darken until the stars started to shine before they packed up their picnic supplies and head back to the palace.

On their way back, Emma kept her gift from Regina close by. She held it tightly against her chest with one hand while she poorly guided her horse Rita with the other.

Regina reveled in the sight and slowed down from her usual pace to stay with Emma during their short journey.

“You can ride ahead if you'd like,” Emma said when Regina came to trot beside her. “I'll meet you in your chambers as soon as I arrive.”

“Are you asking me to leave you?”

“No,” Emma said as she shook her head.

“Good. Don't ever ask me to do that.”

Emma quizzically looked over at Regina through the darkness.

“Why not?”

“Because I'll never leave you,” Regina confessed.

Emma's lips slowly curled into a beaming smile.

Regina barely noticed it, but thankfully they passed under the moonlight just in time for her to see Emma's warm and infectious smile directed at her.

“I'm glad to have made you look at me like that,” Regina said.

“I look at you like this all the time,” Emma calmly insisted.

Regina shook her head.

“This time is different,” Regina said.

Emma questioningly tilted her head to the side and it was the only reaction Regina got from her.

“You always seem to want other things more than you want me. Take the sunset for example. The other day I wanted to have you. I was kissing you and touching you in new ways, but the sun was setting and I didn't want you to miss it.”

Emma's face started to show her realization as to where Regina was going, but she allowed the brunette to continue.

“You seemed torn between the sunset and me, but of course I knew you really wanted to see the sunset. I'll give you anything you want.”

Emma switched the reigns from one hand to the hand pressed against the book Regina had given her earlier in the evening. She still managed to hold onto the book, but with her recently liberated hand she reached out and held one of Regina's.

“I want _you_ ,” Emma said.

“How much,” Regina almost shyly asked, as if afraid of the answer.

“More than anything in the world,” Emma assured her.

Regina happily smiled from ear to ear before she lifted Emma's hand and kissed the back of it.

“There are some things I'd like to purchase from the marketplace. It's in a village near the stables I acquired Rita for you. Would you like to come with me?”

“Yes,” Emma said as she squeezed Regina's hand in confirmation.

“I want it to be the first outing of our courtship,” Regina added.

Emma laughed.

Regina grinned at Emma's reaction and cut the blonde off when she saw the younger woman was about to say something.

“Before you ask, yes, my dear. I do understand I used the term 'outing' and we are both of the same sex. My phrasing was intentional,” Regina said.

“Actually,” Emma teasingly smiled. “I was going ask if you believe this to be a courtship.”

“Have we not spent a lot of time together, getting to know one another?”

“Well, you already know plenty about me because of your unfair advantage.”

Regina furrowed her brow, confused.

“The mirrors,” Emma briefly explained. “You were able to see into my life when I was unable to learn a single thing about yours. In fact, I hardly know you at all.”

“Oh, my dear, you know me _intimately_ ,” Regina purred the last word.

Emma felt a tingling sensation trickle down her spine and her skin rose with goosebumps.

“Only in the physical sense,” Emma said after the sensation lessened.

“Fine. What else do you wish to know about me? I've told you a story about your mother and the bird she and I saved. What more could I tell you?”

“Tell me about your father. Your childhood. You got to see me when I was young. I want at least a glimpse of you when you were only a child.”

Regina frowned.

“You wouldn't want to know that,” Regina gravely stated.

“I'm aware that you carry dark memories, Regina. I can see it in your eyes. If your mother could have done such a terrible thing to Daniel right in front of you then I'm sure the madness started long before you were eighteen.”

“You really are smarter than either of your parents. Do you know that?”

“I'd like to think that magnetic pull has something to do with it,” Emma smirked.

Regina lightly chuckled, her spirits not entirely lifted by Emma's joke but not so caught up in the darkest parts of her thoughts that she couldn't relish at all in Emma's efforts.

“Another day, my dear,” Regina said. “I'm much too tired to talk of unpleasant things tonight.”

“Whenever you're ready,” Emma said. “I'll listen.”

Regina smiled at Emma as they approached the main palace entrance, their hands still joined.

“I must say Rita is a good fit for you,” Regina said after a moment just before they stopped outside the palace and dismounted their steeds.

“You think so?”

“Any horse that leads _you_ without having attitude is one that listens to you even when you're not speaking to them,” Regina explained.

“Run that by me one more time?”

Regina laughed.

“Rita took you back to the palace even though you hardly steered her in any which direction. You were much too concerned with keeping that book close while also holding my hand.”

“Are you complaining?”

“Not at all,” Regina smiled. “I just want you to be more careful during future occasions. Next time Rita may not understand where you're heading and then you could find yourself in danger.”

“I can handle myself.”

“I don't want you to have to handle yourself. I want you to be safe.”

Emma slightly blushed, though not out of nervousness. She was just genuinely surprised as well as happy to be cared for in such a way.

“I will be, My Queen,” Emma said as she placed her free hand on Regina's hip and pulled the brunette toward her for a chaste kiss.

“Mm,” Regina hummed into the quick but much needed kiss as she wrapped her arms around Emma's neck.

Regina kept her arms where they were even when their lips separated.

“Come to bed,” Regina asked.

“Where else would I go,” Emma replied with a rhetorical question.

Regina slowly leaned in and pressed her body flush against Emma's before she kissed the blonde again.

The kiss was slower and more sensual, but still innocent in nature. For a moment, Regina felt like her eighteen year old self when she would sneak off somewhere with Daniel to share a private moment.

Emma smiled when they broke apart again. She opened her eyes and continued to smile as she looked straight into chocolate brown eyes at the stairway that led to the palace doors.

“I want to leave a light on to read something from the book,” Emma said.

“Then you can conjure your own light.”

“Another magic lesson?”

Regina nodded.

“It'll be quick,” Regina said as she took one of Emma's hands in hers and laced their fingers.

Regina wordlessly led Emma up to her bedchambers then carefully removed the book from Emma's hold on it and set it down on the bed. With both of Emma's hands free, Regina turned to the younger woman and gently grabbed her wrists. She lifted Emma's hands up to chest level and started to rub the pads of her thumbs over the blonde's wrists.

“Think about the magic you created when we were on the blanket tonight. The same magic from yesterday you wanted to recreate all day today,” Regina said. “Instead of using it on _me_ , channel it between your hands.”

Emma took a minute or two to relax and try to picture a ball of light between her hands. When she closed her eyes and started to envision Regina bare and riding her fingers, she started to feel a warmth unlike the one she usually felt between her legs. The warmth she felt immediately went to her hands where she imagined the ball of light appearing as it should if she was successful. It also only felt sexual for a moment before she reminded herself what the warmth was for: light. Only light.

Then, suddenly, Regina was behind her with her arms wrapped around her waist. She felt Regina's hands roam across her stomach and smiled as she leaned back into the other woman.

“You did it,” Regina grinned, proud and awestruck.

Emma opened her eyes and blinked a few times before the shock wore off. Before her was a glowing ball of golden energy that floated mid-air between her hands.

“I did,” Emma confirmed before she beamed.

“There,” Regina said. “Now you have a reading light.”

Regina smiled before she pecked a kiss on Emma's cheek then released the princess from her loose embrace and went to her closet.

“Thank you,” Emma smiled at Regina.

“Don't thank me. You're the one who did it,” Regina said as she started to strip out of her riding clothes.

“But I only know how to do it because of you.”

“Mm. Then I guess you're welcome for that.”

“Um...what do I do with it,” Emma asked.

Regina chuckled as she stepped out of her walk-in closet with only her riding pants on.

“Allow it to float, dear,” Regina said. “Just pull your hands away from it and treat it like any other light, a lamp even.”

Emma licked her lips when she looked over at Regina and her bare breasts.

“Sleep naked,” Emma said.

Regina raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Is that an order,” Regina asked.

“It wasn't supposed to be,” Emma shyly and apologetically smiled.

“What if I want you to sleep without a shirt?”

“I...can...do that,” Emma slowly said while she thought about it.

“If you're uncomfortable with it-”

“No,” Emma quickly interjected.

Emma slowly pulled her hands away from the small ball of light she'd made with her magic and concentrated enough to keep it hovering in the same place by her side of the bed. She stepped around it and removed her borrowed riding jacket on her way over to Regina. She let the jacket fall to the floor a few steps away from Regina then peeled off her shirt, another thing she had borrowed from Regina.

The shirt gracefully drifted down to the floor and Emma stopped in front of Regina with her breasts exposed.

“See? Comfortable.”

Regina smiled and ran a hand through Emma's hair. She closed the little distance between them and sensually kissed the princess. Her hand slid down from Emma's hair to the younger woman's breast and gently squeezed.

“You are too beautiful to hide yourself,” Regina said when she reluctantly broke the kiss.

“Yes, well,” Emma frowned as she looked down at the floor. “The last time someone saw me like this, they...they nearly convinced me I wasn't a princess.”

Regina furrowed her brow.

“What did they think you were?”

“A woman best used to warm his sheets and present myself on my back with my legs spread like I was his prize,” Emma sadly said.

Regina's eyes darkened out of anger while she curled her lips into a snarl. She cupped Emma's face and comfortingly coaxed the blonde to meet her eyes. When their gazes locked, she spoke.

“You are _not_ a prize, Emma. You are a _gift_.”

Emma slowly smiled.

“Do you truly believe that?”

“With all my heart,” Regina sincerely answered.

Emma's smile brightened.

“Did you tell your parents what this idiot said,” Regina asked.

Emma shook her head.

“They were about to hold court and they kept saying that marrying him would make the perfect alliance.”

“I know you love them, but Emma, you're parents are horrible.”

Emma shrugged.

“They're just trying to fix everything,” Emma said.

“What do you mean? What needs to be fixed?”

“Ever since my parents freed the Dark One, he's been stirring up a lot of magic in other kingdoms. My parents are on the verge of war with those kingdoms because he nearly destroys each one of them with all the power he uses.”

Regina frowned.

“Does anyone know why he's using all this magic?”

Emma shook her head.

“They rarely even catch him doing it. They just feel this big boom and then their kingdom is nearly torn to shreds. Why? Do you know something?”

“No,” Regina said. “I know _him_ , but I don't know what he's up to. I haven't seen him in a very long time.”

“You didn't... You're not friends with him or anything, are you?”

“We have a complicated relationship.”

“Complicated like Maleficent,” Emma asked with a sad expression.

“No,” Regina shook her head and soothingly brushed her thumb over Emma's cheek a few times. “He taught me magic.”

“The way you're teaching me?”

Regina knitted her brow and questioningly tilted her head to the side.

“Emma....do you really think I allow people to be intimate with me so easily?”

Emma paused before she shook her head.

“I only ask because there seems to be a lot of things I have yet to know about the people you associate with.”

“I don't associate myself with him anymore,” Regina said. “I haven't spoken to him since he told me about your masquerade ball.”

Emma instantly took a step back.

“He's the reason you were there?”

Regina's expression fell and her heart ached for the hurt that passed over Emma's features.

“No, my dear. I was there for you, but...I...” Regina trailed off and sighed when no other words came out of her mouth.

It took a few seconds to recover before she spoke again.

“I was only there to steal you away from your parents,” Regina calmly though sadly confessed. “That's why I was so wickedly happy to find out I nearly had sex with Snow White's daughter. Surely you knew my intentions with you didn't start out pure.”

“I... You said as much, though not in so many words, but I didn't think-”

“Emma, I mean you no harm now. Honestly, I don't think I ever did. I just wanted to keep you from your mother. I _never_ would have caused you pain.”

“But you fought me.”

“Because you started it. I'll always defend myself. Even against you. Although now I'm not so sure that's true.”

“How do I know I'm not still some pawn for you to use against my mother?”

“How would you like me to prove it to you?”

“You'll do anything I say?”

Regina nodded.

“Make me a promise,” Emma said.

“That's all you require?”

“A promise isn't something to take lightly.”

“Of that I'm aware. Your mother seems to be the only one who doesn't understand that concept.”

“Promise me you would fight for me. Promise me...if I ever call out for you, no matter where I am, you'll come to me. Promise me that I'm more than someone to try and seduce. That I'm not a virgin you wish to rob of her innocence because it was taken from you, because my mother couldn't keep a secret and _your_ mother couldn't see past the great future she had planned out for you.”

“Those are a lot of promises. And would you honestly call for _me_ in a time of need?”

“I wish I _had_ called you the night that lowly Prince told me I was only good for my body.”

“One day I will get you to tell me about this Prince,” Regina firmly said.

Emma crossed her arms over her chest and expectantly stared at Regina while she waited for the woman to remember what Emma wanted from her.

Regina defensively raised her hands when Emma gave her that look. She didn't speak again until after she lowered them and reached out to Emma's crossed arms.

“I promise you,” Regina started as she uncrossed Emma's arms and took the blonde's hands in hers. “I will be there for you in any way you need me to be. And I promise the day you let me in that you will know how I truly feel about you. I'll give you a hint. It will have nothing to do with using you or with vengeance or with unjust punishment due to what I went through.”

“If you break any of those promises-”

“I won't,” Regina adamantly stated.

They stared at each other in utter silence for a moment. Their eyes held no malice or disbelief. It was only a shared look that lasted a few long seconds. It was a connection, a moment of understanding and silent agreement.

“Okay,” Emma broke the silence. “Bed?”

“Yes.”

“May I undress the rest of you?”

Regina smiled and nodded.

“Yes, my Princess.”

Emma untied Regina's riding pants and slowly started to tug them down her legs. She lightly ran her fingers over Regina's skin as she moved the riding pants toward the brunette's ankles.

Regina gasped at Emma's tender pace and felt that familiar pull. Before she had a chance to question why such a small and simple act would make her that way, Emma kissed her calve.

“Emma?”

Regina looked down and saw Emma move up her leg before she kissed her knee.

“What are you doing,” Regina asked.

“Do you want me to stop,” Emma asked as she looked up at Regina from her position on her knees before the Queen.

“I didn't ask you to do this,” Regina said.

Emma slumped onto her ankles.

“You don't like it.”

Regina stepped out of her pants and wasted no time to kneel in front of Emma.

“You have no idea what you started,” Regina softly said. “It felt good, Emma.”

“Then why did you want me to stop?”

“I would want from you than what you could give me.”

“You don't even know what I was going to give you.”

“What?”

“I don't want to say it. It's crass.”

Regina smirked.

“If you can't say it, dear, then how do you expect me to think you're ready to _do_ it?”

Emma rolled her eyes with a hint of a lopsided smile.

“It's not time for that,” Regina said. “I made a promise to you and we had a moment. Now, we sleep. Can you refrain from kissing my legs if I allow you to remove my undergarment?”

“Lets find out,” Emma said as she hooked her fingers in the sides of Regina's underwear and pulled them down to the other woman's knees.

“Emma!”

Emma mischievously grinned when she lunged forward and crushed Regina's lips with her own.

The ferocity with which Emma moved took Regina by surprise and also caused the princess to fall completely on top of her.

Emma accidentally pushed Regina onto the ground during her playful attack while she roughly pulled at Regina's underwear to slide it the rest of the way down her legs. The fall also broke their kiss, but Emma quickly adjusted and started to kiss, suck, and nip at Regina's neck.

“Em-ma,” Regina laughed.

Emma released the sides of Regina's underwear and gripped the center of them with just one hand while she pressed the other to Regina's upper inner thigh.

Regina's laughter subsided when Emma's thumb grazed between her slit and unintentionally teased her opening. She instinctively spread her legs for Emma though her underwear had only reached her ankles.

With one quick pull, Emma yanked Regina's underwear off her legs and raised herself off Regina only enough to discard the garment somewhere across the chamber floor. The second Regina's underwear had disappeared from her hand, Emma didn't hesitate to press herself fully on top of Regina.

When the waistband of her borrowed riding pants brushed Regina's exposed sex, Regina moaned and arched her back.

Emma cut off the moan when she passionately kissed Regina. Without conscious thought, Emma started to rock against Regina.

Regina's breath hitched and she threw her head back, which effectively broke their kiss.

“Emma,” Regina moaned. “That feels amazing...but-”

Emma groaned out of disappointment and stopped all movement.

“Sorry, I just...” Emma started as she pushed back into a kneeling position between Regina's legs. “I wanted to make sure I could make you prove what you feel when I touch you is genuine.”

“You don't believe me when I tell you that's the truth?”

“I do, but I wanted a reminder.”

“Come here,” Regina gently ordered as she threw her arms around Emma's neck.

Emma lowered herself onto Regina again.

Regina wrapped her legs around Emma's waist and chastely kissed Emma.

“I'm the Evil Queen,” Regina started. “You have me naked and smiling and in case you didn't notice, this is the second time I've allowed you to be on top of me.”

Emma looked down between them and confirmed that she was in fact on top. She quickly thought back to earlier in the evening during their first date and realized she had been on top then too.

“I used to kill people whenever they displeased me or seemed useless to keep around. You've now prevented me from killing _two_ of my guards for their wrong doing. I haven't pushed you any further than you've wanted to go sexually and I made several promises to you. I _like_ to push people and I _never_ make _any_ promises. Still need a reminder?”

Emma smiled a big, warm smile that filled Regina with light and something else she hadn't figured out yet, but it felt strangely familiar to the way she'd occasionally felt with Daniel.

“No,” Emma said as she continued to smile.

“Then would you be so kind as to carry me to the bed?”

“Gladly,” Emma replied as she scooped Regina into her arms, the Queen's arms and legs still around her neck and waist respectively.

Emma stood with Regina and walked them over to the bed. Neither of them paid any attention to the clothes haphazardly left on the floor.

Emma carefully laid Regina down on the brunette's side of the bed and pressed down on her before she stole a kiss then rolled over onto her side of the bed. She pulled the covers down and lifted herself off of them, to which Regina did the same, and slipped under them at the same time as Regina.

“You didn't change out of my riding pants,” Regina said. “I don't you to get these sheets dirty by sleeping in them.”

Emma chuckled.

“As you wish, My Queen,” Emma teasingly said before she removed the pants and dropped them to the floor beside the bed.

Emma laid with Regina in only her underwear.

“Oh, my dear princess,” Regina half-smirked, half-smiled as she rolled onto her stomach against Emma's side, partially on top of the blonde with an arm draped over her middle. “You're coming around.”

“Don't get any ideas,” Emma warned even though she smiled.

“Wouldn't think of it,” Regina sarcastically said with a grin.

“Kiss,” Emma asked as she puckered her lips.

Regina smiled and pecked a kiss to Emma's lip.

“Princess Emma has Queen Regina thoroughly whipped,” Emma teased.

“See how whipped I am when I have you admit you love me.”

“You don't know that I'll ever say that let alone feel it.”

“Oh, but I'm that good,” Regina confidently said.

“We shall see,” Emma said with a light tone and a somewhat knowing smirk.

Regina hummed and leaned in again. She kissed Emma a little longer that time though she kept it relatively chaste then too. When they parted, Regina curled into Emma's side.

“If you're not going to read tonight, will you make that light of yours vanish?”

Emma smiled.

“I'll rid your chambers of it after I read a little something about the Queen's Quest.”

“I told you that wasn't finished.”

“I was only going to read until the Queen goes out to find what she doesn't realize what she's missing. Now where did that book go?”

Regina tiredly groaned and flicked her wrist.

The book flew at Emma and the blonde managed to catch it before it hit her in the face.

“Thank you.”

“Mhmm,” Regina grumbled. “Goodnight, my dear.”

“Goodnight, My Queen,” Emma replied as she opened the book and flipped to the passage blandly titled: “The Queen.”

***     *     ***

Regina felt the corners of the book press into her ribs several times. Over and over and over again without reprieve. The first two times caused her to stir, though she fought hard to keep her eyes closed and tried to fall back asleep. The third time she took a jab to the ribs, she groaned and rubbed her bruised skin. The fourth time, her eyes popped open out of annoyance. She looked up, slightly angry, at Emma until she saw the pain etched across the blonde's face.

Regina softened and sat up. She removed the book from the bed and placed it on the end table on her side of the bed then called out to the younger woman.

“Emma? Emma, are you alright?”

Regina gently shook Emma in an attempt to wake her.

Emma groaned before she pressed a hand to her stomach and curled up facing Regina with her knees almost to her chest.

Regina stared down at Emma with concern. She brushed blonde tresses out of Emma's face and felt a sheen of sweat at Emma's hairline.

“Emma,” Regina called out again before she leaned down and kissed Emma's temple.

Emma whimpered like a girl on the verge of tears and rolled onto her other side.

“Regina,” Emma softly cried out.

“I'm here, Emma,” Regina said as she slid down in the bed and pressed her front to Emma's back. “What's wrong?”

“It hurts,” Emma said before she sniffled.

“What does?”

“Everything!”

Emma started to cry and Regina held her tighter.

It was only then as Regina kept an arm draped over Emma's waist that felt the younger woman shake within her embrace.

“Emma. You're shivering!”

“I'm cold,” Emma said before she gulped and squeezed her eyes shut. “I feel sick.”

“I don't understand. You were fine last night.”

“The pain woke me. I don't know what happened,” Emma stopped to sob before she continued. “I feel horribly weak and it's like this pain keeps coming in waves. It feels like someone is repeatedly punching me in the stomach hard and hitting me in the head.”

“Is there anything I can do?”

“Make it stop,” Emma cried.

“I wish I could, but I don't know how,” Regina sympathetically said.

Emma moaned through the next wave of pain and leaned into Regina.

“Something isn't right,” Emma quietly said.

“Of course something isn't right. You're sick, dear,” Regina calmly said as she brushed Emma's hair out of her face and kissed the temple she hadn't previously kissed.

“No, something's happening. I don't know what, but it...I can't fight this much longer.”

Regina furrowed her brows and opened her mouth to say something when she finally felt it. It was a small fluttering like butterflies flapping their wings in her stomach.

“Oh no,” Regina breathed out and her eyes widened in shock.

Regina blinked away the shock then looked down at Emma with worry.

“You have to keep fighting. I can make it stop, but you have to keep fighting for me, okay?”

“I'm not strong enough,” Emma said before she sniffled again.

“Yes, you are. I promise it will only hurt for a few more minutes,” Regina said as she started to get out of bed.

“Don't go!”

“I'll only be at the mirror,” Regina said as she felt a pang in her heart at the sight of Emma's pleading green eyes. “I'll be back in bed before you know it.”

Regina laced her fingers with Emma's and lifted the back of the blonde's hand to her lips then kissed it. She carefully placed Emma's hand back over the younger woman's stomach and conjured herself a robe on her way to the vanity.

“Genie, show me Snow White,” Regina commanded the mirror as she waved a hand in front of the glass.

The mirror swirled with blue smoke and cleared to reveal Snow and her doting Prince at the barrier she and Emma had made. Next to the couple stood a familiar fairy dressed in and glowing blue.

The Blue Fairy waved her wand and fairy dust jolted the barrier. The golden color of said barrier flickered and Emma loudly cried out.

Regina cringed at the sound and wanted nothing more than to comfort the woman in her bed. The sight of Emma in pain then effected Regina in two ways. Her initial reaction to Emma's discomfort was as a girlfriend or lover or whatever term fit the relationship they had. She wanted only to quiet Emma's screams and hug her until the anguish passed. Her second reaction was as a vindictive Evil Queen that punished anyone that hurt her.

That time was different however. She no longer cared about herself when it came to Snow's most recent actions. That time she only cared about what it did to Emma.

Regina spitefully glared at the image of Snow White display on her mirror and snarled.

“I have to leave,” Regina growled as she continued to look at the image of Snow but spoke only to Emma.

“No! Please don't leave,” Emma begged.

“It's the only way I can make this stop,” Regina said as she turned to Emma and softened again just for the blonde. “What I have to do can't be done through the mirror. It's going to require a lot of effort on my part and relying on a shimmering image through the mirror isn't reliable.”

“But I need you here,” Emma whined like a helpless child.

“I'll make it better, Emma,” Regina said as she crossed the room and came to stand in front of Emma on the blonde's side of the bed. “I'll leave the mirror to focus on me when I go so you can still see me. Would that help?”

“Just don't go,” Emma looked up at Regina with watery, red-rimmed eyes and a sad frown.

“I promise I'll be right back,” Regina said as she brushed more of Emma's hair out of her face.

Emma cried out again then buried her face against the bed.

Regina wanted to cry with Emma, unable to handle the blonde being in so much pain.

“I'll be at the barrier outside the palace,” Regina said. “You'll still be able to see me in case it _does_ help ease your mind. I'll make the pain go away. You'll always be safe with me, my love.”

Regina leaned down and pressed a kiss to Emma's forehead like she had the first time she saw Emma. With her lips still pressed to Emma's forehead, purple smoke enveloped her until she disappeared.

When she reappeared, she stood on the other side of the barrier fully dressed in her usual tight and elegant Evil Queen attire. She glared through the fading golden barrier at Snow and clenched her fists at her sides.

“Stop this!”

Snow, Charming, and the Blue Fairy all snapped their eyes upward to look at Regina.

“And why would we do that,” Charming asked like a mighty King when, in Regina's eyes, he'd only ever be a simpleminded shepherd trying too hard to fill the role being married to Snow gave him.

“Because you have no idea what kind of _pain_ you're inflicting,” Regina barked.

“We won't stop until this barrier comes down so we may rescue our daughter,” Snow fiercely said.

“Rescue her? I'm not the one who put up this barrier!”

Snow blinked with her mouth agape and stared at Regina, completely taken aback.

“It matters not,” Regina carelessly waved a hand. “You will _not_ take this barrier down, especially not with _her_ help.”

Regina snarled as she looked from Snow to the Blue Fairy.

“What are you going to do, Regina,” Blue asked. “You were lucky to only be banished. Snow White showed you mercy were you've shown her only cold hearted vengeance and great loss.”

Regina scoffed and almost allowed herself to be distracted. When the Blue Fairy struck with her enchanted dust, however, Regina saw the golden light flicker before fading to an almost transparent shade.

Regina unclenched her fists and raised her hands like she had the first time when she made the barrier with Emma. She eased the faded golden magic down until she stood before Snow, Blue, and Charming without a shield to keep them from attacking her.

The three of them furrowed their brows as they suspiciously eyed the Evil Queen. Before any of them thought to charge her, Regina seized her opportunity and zapped the Blue Fairy with a purple bolt of electricity she shot out from one of her open palms.

The Blue Fairy convulsed and flew back a few paces, but she was able to shake it off.

“Regina,” Charming warningly said with a booming voice as he took a step toward her.

“You'll have to find another way to bring down the barrier,” Regina said as she looked to Charming then to Snow before she redirected her attention on the Blue Fairy once again.

Regina flicked her wrist and forced the Blue Fairy to fly toward her. The second the Blue Fairy was in reach, Regina grasped the tiny fairy in her fist and gave a slight but still painful squeeze.

The Blue Fairy wiggled around in her hand and tried to escape, but Regina didn't let go. Instead, she reached out with her other hand and plucked one of the fairy's wings from her back.

The Blue Fairy screamed and her smaller size made the sound more high pitched than a normal person's.

“Regina,” Snow yelled as she and Charming started to run toward her.

Regina let the Blue Fairy's ripped wing float to the ground and land somewhere in the grass near her feet. She then flung the fairy at Snow and Charming and used both hands to push the three of them back a few feet from where the original barrier had been before she coaxed Emma into lowering it with the more soothing aspects of her own magic.

As Snow and Charming started to recover from Regina's magic, Charming saw the Blue Fairy struggle to fly as she worked twice as hard to flap her only good wing at a tiring speed. He quickly held out a hand and let the fairy drop into his palm and rest. She laid down a few seconds after her feet had touched his hand and breathed heavily while she tried to regain her strength.

“You had your chance with Emma and you failed,” Regina sneered. “She's now under _my_ protection.”

“It's you she needs protecting from,” Snow shouted as she tried to take another step toward Regina.

Regina recreated a thinner version of the barrier and Snow ran right into the transparent purple shield. She grinned as Snow was thrown onto her ass.

Charming immediately extended his free hand to her and Snow allowed him to help her onto her feet.

“I guess I'm upholding one of my promises,” Regina somewhat smugly said, though the thought had just occurred to her so it surprised and slightly amused her more than anything.

“What promise,” Snow asked in a clipped tone.

“I'm fighting for her,” Regina replied.

“You're fighting to _keep_ her from us, to do whatever evil you plan on unleashing on her to spite Snow,” Charming angrily corrected.

“I think not,” Regina said. “If you know what's best for you and your daughter, I suggest you let her come back to you on her own.”

Charming opened his mouth and inhaled as though in preparation to say something, but Regina didn't stick around to hear it. She disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke and left Charming with an injured fairy and a wife who shared his concerns.

“We have to get her back to the palace,” Charming said as he looked down at Blue who could only keep her eyes open for a few seconds at a time.

Snow nodded her agreement and the two of them left to take the fairy to a healer.

Regina poofed back into her bedchamber and closed the distance between her and Emma who still rested in the bed with the sheets twisted up around her bare legs. Regina was finally able to see Emma in only her underwear and yet, she only saw Emma's face without the pain there to contort it.

“How are you feeling now,” Regina soothingly asked.

“Better,” Emma said, her voice raspy from all her crying and yelling.

“Good.”

“I'm tired,” Emma confessed.

“I expected as much.”

“Come back to bed?”

Regina nodded and started to walk over to her side of the bed.

“Without the clothes,” Emma sweetly added before Regina could even sit on the bed let alone join Emma in it.

“Yes, dear,” Regina smiled and used her magic to disrobe.

Regina crawled into the bed while Emma rolled onto her back.

Emma turned her head to look at Regina and waited for the brunette to drape her arm over her waist before she relaxed.

Regina slid her arm over Emma's waist, but rested it across pale skin just underneath the blonde's uncovered breasts.

“Why was I sick,” Emma asked.

“Magic. Your parents were trying to use fairy dust to destroy the barrier.”

“But fairy dust isn't harmful.”

“It is when you use it to tear down a novice's magical barrier,” Regina said.

“I wasn't strong enough to keep the barrier up,” Emma frowned.

Regina pushed onto her elbow and looked into Emma's eyes.

“You kept the barrier up for _days_ , Emma. The first big spell I tried to do lasted less than two hours. You are absolutely amazing.”

“But the barrier. It's gone.”

Regina shook her head.

“What? But I felt you,” Emma said. “You lowered it without hurting me. Wait, how did you do that?”

“There are non-invasive and non-destructive ways of touching someone's magic.”

“How?”

“A lesson for another time. You need to rest.”

“And how much rest do you suppose it will take before I regain my strength this time? My magic?”

“Two days time.”

“Really?”

“ _If_ you don't practice magic until then and take some energy from me,” Regina added.

“I don't want to take from you.”

“It won't hurt me.”

“Did you make a new barrier?”

“Yes, it's not as powerful as the one we made together using your magic, but it'll suffice for now. That's why you need to take from me. Once you get your strength back, you can toughen up the barrier again.”

Emma shook her head.

“You'll be defenseless until then. I won't allow that. My parents will be back as soon as they can to take down your barrier. If they do that, I think they'll either kill or imprison you.”

“They've tried both before and yet, here I am,” Regina smiled at her to lighten the mood.

“I won't take that chance, Regina.”

“I won't be defenseless,” Regina calmly argued. “I'll still have magic. You won't need it all.”

Emma stared up at Regina for several seconds.

“I don't want to lose you.”

Regina smiled again, sincere and warm.

“They won't kill me,” Regina assured her. “And if they locked me up, you would not lose me. The dungeons aren't far from the palace. You could visit me and possibly even free me with your magic when you're skilled enough.”

“Are you saying that no matter what happens, I will never lose you?”

“Yes. I will do everything in my power to ensure that.”

Emma smiled.

“Now, if you expect to join me at the marketplace today, relax and allow me to transfer my energy.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Emma said as her smile spread.

Regina hummed and shifted. In her movement, she brushed the length of her body against Emma's side and moaned when she brushed her more sensitive areas against Emma's skin. When she stopped moving, her body started to glow and a magical warmth developed between her and Emma.

Emma's breath hitched and she arched into Regina.

“Easy,” Regina grinned against Emma's clavicle, her eyes relaxed shut.

Emma contentedly sighed.


	13. Chapter 13

"I want four guards posted outside the front of the palace, three posted in the back, and five at the barrier," Regina commanded the Huntsman and Bruce, the head of her Royal Guard. "I want two guards each to patrol every hall."

"Your Majesty? What's the problem," the Huntsman asked, seemingly concerned and slightly alarmed.

"If anyone tries to break the barrier or succeeds in invading the palace, they are to be dealt with as necessary," Regina replied.

"What shall you have us do," Bruce asked.

"Kill them or lock them away in the dungeon," Regina dismissively waved a hand at them. "Try to lock them up first, but if they present a more malicious threat then do not hesitate to _end them_."

The last two words were spoken with a thick, raspy tone that dripped out of her mouth with hate and anger and a darkness only the Evil Queen herself could touch.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Bruce obediently nodded.

The Huntsman said nothing and remained perfectly still, stiff as a board with tense shoulders and a lump in his throat that accompanied the sickening knot that twisted in the pit of his stomach.

"Huntsman," Regina asked with a voice like honey with an undertone of fear-inducing implications. "Do you understand me?"

The Huntsman subtly gulped then nodded and bowed his head.

"Yes, My Queen," he said.

" _Don't_ ever call me that," Regina slowly growled. "You are to call me 'Your Majesty' and that is all."

Regina then looked to Bruce and realization flashed in her eyes as she straightened up to a more regal, dignified, and stoic stance.

"In fact, you will tell everyone that they are only to call me 'Your Majesty' from now on. Anyone who addresses me as 'My Queen' will be restrained in the dungeon without food until I feel you have learned your lesson."

Both men averted their eyes and noticeably stiffened.

"Now that I've made myself clear, delegate the other guards to their posts and join them in defense."

"Yes, Your Majesty," they both quietly said in sync before they took their leave.

Regina took a deep breath and puffed it out in a loud and heavy sigh before she surrounded herself with purple smoke. She emerged from the smoke before it even dissipated as she strode forward in her bedchamber and went straight to the bed. Emma continued to sleep even as she sat down on her side of the bed and brushed a hand over blonde tresses.

Regina stroked Emma's hair for a moment longer before she slid down on the bed and laid with her. She moved her hand from Emma's hair down to her arm and lightly ran her fingertips over the younger woman's arm.

Goosebumps rose in Regina's wake on Emma's arm and caused the princess to part her lips in her sleep as her breath momentarily caught in her throat.

Regina smiled at that and paused in her actions for a second before she rolled partially on her stomach toward Emma. She leaned in and kissed Emma's bicep where she had previously touched and created goosebumps. She didn't want to wake the princess, but with Emma's weakened state she also didn't want to leave her alone or go without feeling the blonde under her touch in any way possible.

Regina pulled back after her kiss to look at Emma and noticed that the goosebumps on fair skin had receded. She tried not to smile because to smile once at the woman in her bed was acceptable, but to do it twice in such a short amount of time made her look like a naive, lovestruck young girl; much like she had been with Daniel. She wanted to avoid that because, even though her mother was long gone, she still feared losing that which she loved. So she flashed a quick smile that seemed sadder than how she usually felt toward Emma.

"R'gina," Emma sleepily asked as she started to stir. "Are you okay?"

"Of course, my love," Regina answered as she brushed the back of her fingers against Emma's arm. "You don't need to worry about me."

Emma opened her eyes and, after a couple of seconds, gave Regina a goofy smile.

"What is it? Why are you smiling," Regina asked as Emma's smile brought one to her own face.

"You said 'love'."

"What?"

Regina was shocked more than anything else, but she couldn't hide the heart stopping fear that came with the truth of Emma's statement. Though Regina wasn't sure if it actually was true. She barely admitted it to herself let alone voiced such troubling thoughts out loud. Had she said love?

"You said 'my love'. You've only ever called me 'my dear'."

Realization slowly showed on Regina's face.

"I did, didn't I."

"You love me?"

Emma looked hopeful in ways Regina couldn't handle if she ever destroyed that light in the other woman's eyes. But she wouldn't destroy that hope. In fact, she would only turn that hope into a happy reality.

"Yes," Regina confessed with a large, warm smile. "I don't know what I would do if something happened to you."

Emma placed her hand on top of Regina's on her arm and rubbed circles over the back of Regina's hand with her thumb.

"Actually, I do know what I would do," Regina corrected herself. "But you wouldn't like it."

Emma frowned.

"I promise I'm here with you. I won't leave, but...if anything happens to me that neither of us can control, please don't resort to your dark, villainous ways."

Emma teasingly smiled, which told Regina that the message was serious but the context of her words were spoken lightly as a joke.

Regina's smile widened and she exposed her perfectly set teeth. But the smile faded before she replied to Emma.

"I'm not comfortable with making a promise I'm not sure I can keep. But I _will_ promise you this, if anything out of our control were to happen to you, may the gods forbid it, I will try my hardest to be the person I am when I'm with you."

"That's enough for me," Emma said and brought Regina's hand from her arm to her lips and kissed the back of the Queen's hand.

Regina raised her eyebrows in a way that silently asked, "Really?"

"For now," Emma answered Regina's unvoiced question with a suggestive and partially mischievous grin.

"Oh? And when will you hold me more accountable for such heinous actions?"

"When I see you waiting at the end of the aisle for me," Emma easily answered. "I expect nothing less in your vows."

Regina's jaw dropped.

"You want us to marry?"

"I don't want to be with anyone else," Emma casually shrugged as she continued to lay in the bed. "Why not?"

"I... Wh... I..."

Emma chuckled at Regina's sudden speechlessness.

"Relax, My Queen," Emma said. "One step at a time."

"What step are we on, dear?"

Emma pursed her lips together while she smirked at Regina. She rolled on top of Regina and pinned down the hand she still had possession of before she laced her fingers with Regina's. She smirked down at Regina and bit her bottom lip as she straddled the Queen's hips.

"Emma," Regina almost warningly said, though it sounded more like a plea.

"I knew you loved me," Emma admitted. "I felt it. You've told me you've changed and I've seen you refuse to do harm simply because I asked you not to. That's more than anyone has ever done for me. You've given me a horse and a dream catcher and have allowed me freedom my parents didn't, wouldn't. They were worried you'd hurt me and yet, you _love_ me. You're not a threat to me. They are."

"Yes, well, you need to rest, my love," Regina said.

"I don't want to rest," Emma said as she placed her head on Regina's chest.

Emma chastely kissed Regina's sternum then lifted her head and leaned forward before she kissed Regina on the lips. “How about a magic lesson?”

"Emma," Regina started. “No magic today. And no horseback riding either.”

Emma groaned.

"Why not," Emma almost pouted. "I want to do something. I don't want to be trapped inside. You're doing what my parents did.”

“You need to stay in bed until you recuperate,” Regina insisted. “Your magic has been tested to great lengths and you'll need your strength if you want to continue practicing.”

Emma collapsed on top of Regina and groaned in defeat before she curled against Regina's body, her head on Regina's chest and one leg thrown over the brunette.

Regina lifted her hand up to Emma's hair and started to soothingly brush her fingers through blonde tresses.

“If I have to stay in here, you have to stay with me,” Emma said in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Fine. We can talk," Regina offered. "We haven't done much of that yet. At least, no more than knowing what we both like."

Emma chuckled.

"Yeah, like you and the color black, Miss Queen of Gothic Fashion."

Regina grinned and laughed as she continued to run her hands through Emma's hair.

"You say it as though you aren't madly fascinated and thoroughly pleased by my preferred style."

"Though what you say is true, it doesn't mean I find it humorous that your outfits reveal so much and have an unnecessary dramatic flare."

"No matter," Regina purred. "I shall wear them until your jaw stops dropping every time you see me in them."

"Mm," Emma hummed and started to draw lazy circles on Regina's hip with her fingertips.

"Now, we'll talk about things I told you I wasn't ready to talk about when you asked."

"Example?"

"My father."

Emma immediately stopped making circles on Regina's hips, tensed, then pushed onto her forearms and stared at Regina. Her eyes were wide with anticipation as well as hope that Regina spoke the truth with a glimmer of excitement on her face.

"You'll tell me about him?"

"Mhmm," Regina nodded against the pillow.

Emma sat up and folded and tucked her legs underneath her. She remained on the bed next to Regina and patiently waited like an anxious child during story time for the brunette to start talking.

Emma's youthfulness and childish wonder made Regina smile and reminded the Queen how precious the woman with her was. She knew the blonde had her moments and could be strong, but she rarely saw that side. She saw Emma as a woman fearful to trust, but when she did, it meant more than any words or significant promises that were unfortunately broken.

"I will tell you something about my relationship with my father, but I hope you'll share at least one memory of your past with me afterward."

"Okay."

"Something from after your sixth birthday, should you decide to share."

"I can do that," Emma smiled. "What about your father?"

"You're awfully curious about him. Is there something specific you would like to know?"

"Maybe. Your mother sounds like a nightmare," Emma said before she realized that topic hardened Regina's features with pain. "But when you mention your father, you seem nostalgic and sometimes you smile."

Regina smiled then too as if Emma saying it made her want to prove the blonde right.

“Yes, I suppose I would. My father was a kind and honest man. He wasn't very strong when it came to standing up for what and _who_ he should have, but...I can't exactly blame him for that considering who he would have had to face.”

Regina had yet to look at Emma as she spoke. She looked down at her lap, but she seemed to be in another world as she recalled her memories of Henry Mills.

“He used to sing me Spanish lullabies before bed and tickle my toes whenever I sat in his lap,” Regina smiled and continued. “When I got older, he would praise my riding skills and tell me how proud he was. He told me how beautiful I was and how well I've grown.”

Finally, Regina looked at Emma.

“He would have liked you. I think you would have liked him too. He was a kind soul and Mother would always be harsh and strict. But he would sneak all the foods Mother didn't allow me to eat up to my room and told me stories of the places he'd wanted to go and how spirited his was when he was about my age.”

“He sounds like a great father,” Emma noted with a warm smile.

Regina nodded.

“He was the only one to stand by me when I went from being his young and hopeful little girl to the King's wife to the Evil Queen. The older he got, the more I pushed to find a spell that would preserve what youth he had left, but...there was only so much I could do to cheat his death.”

Emma frowned and reached out. She grabbed one of Regina's hands and rubbed her thumb over the back of it to comfort the brunette.

“He died not too long before I met you, in front of the palace. His last words, aside from 'I love you', was an apology.”

Emma furrowed her brows in confusion.

“Wait, how long before you met me,” Emma asked.

Regina seemed thrown off by that question.

“A few days before your ball. Why?”

“Grayish white hair, mostly bald on the top of his head? Dressed in a royal blue coat with gold buttons?”

“Yes,” Regina confirmed with wide eyes. “But how–”

“I met him,” Emma said. “I was there when he...fell down. I tried to help him, but he told me to leave because you were coming. I swear, Regina, I didn't know what to do, but I wanted to stay with him. I started to help him. Honestly!”

Regina immediately softened and slowly smiled at Emma's long and rushed explanation.

“Oh, my love, worry not,” Regina said. “It wasn't your fault. He should have passed years before, but I couldn't let him go. I'm glad you met him, though I wish it had gone differently, and you tried to help him. Truly impressive since he was a perfect stranger. Although, I'm sure that's the Charming gene of yours.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“It's what good people do. Try to help someone in need,” Emma said. “It has nothing to do with genetics.”

“Mm,” Regina noncommittally hummed as she nodded.

“Besides, it hurt me to see him like that. He sounded like a mad man when he tried to rush me away from here, but he said it was for my own good and it's not like he _forced_ me to leave like my parents might have. I figured I should trust him, but I really didn't want to leave him. He said his daughter was on her way so I hoped you would get there in time.”

“He warned you about me,” Regina asked with sad and slightly watery eyes.

“Yeah,” Emma said before she cringed and continued. “I guess he knew who I was and knew you had something unpleasant planned for me. You said it yourself, he was a kind soul. He loved you, but he had to do what he could to protect me.”

Regina nodded and smiled. She breathed out a small chuckle.

“I'm glad he did,” Regina said before she looked up at Emma again. “Because it's what he _tried_ to do for me. It's what a father does, or at least what a father should do.”

Regina leaned forward and sweetly kissed Emma. She leaned back when the kiss ended, a smile still on her face.

“For his daughter,” Regina added. “He's never warned anyone else about me in all my time as the Evil Queen, but he warned you. He protected _you_.”

“He liked me,” Emma joked with a wide smile.

Regina laughed.

“He did,” she agreed. “And he was right to like you. Princess Emma, you are one truly wonderful and beautiful woman. Though I captured you to use you against your parents for revenge, it gave me the greatest gift in all the lands. And my father was right. I did find my happiness.”

A tear slid down Emma's cheek and Regina wiped it away.

“I love you,” Emma said.

Regina beamed before she leaned in and kissed Emma again.

“And I love you,” Regina said after their kiss. When those three words left her lips, she realized how good it felt to finally allow herself to say them.

“I feel much better now,” Emma smiled.

“You're staying in this bed.”

Emma sighed then bit her lip as she fought to conceal a mischievous smirk.

“Even if I do this,” Emma asked as she pulled her shirt down one arm to expose her shoulder before she leaned in and slowly, languidly, kissed Regina's neck.

Regina closed her eyes and quietly moaned in response to Emma's lips on her neck.

“Get away from me, Temptress,” Regina joked, her eyes still closed.

Emma laughed into her next and sent vibrations across Regina's neck.

“Now's not the time, my love,” Regina said with a low and raspy voice.

As if on cue, three chimes sounded from the mirror and the genie appeared in the glass.

Emma knew the signal and reluctantly pulled away from Regina then turned to face the room as she covered her shoulder once again with her shirt.

“Genie,” Regina flatly asked as she slowly removed herself from the bed.

“Your assistance is needed downstairs,” the genie quickly informed her. “There's been a possible security breech.”

Regina sighed.

“Already? ...Alright. Thank you.”

The genie disappeared as Regina turned toward Emma with an apologetic expression.

“I'll be right back. Stay in bed. When I return, you can tell me something about yourself.”

Emma playfully pouted.

Regina closed the space between them and leaned down for a kiss.

“I won't be long,” she said when they parted. “Close your eyes and rest or change your clothes. Take a look around my closet. If you find something you like, have it. But don't leave our chambers.”

Regina kissed Emma again, unable to keep her lips away from the blonde's, before she asked, “Please?”

“Okay,” Emma quietly said.

Regina smiled and gave the blonde a quick peck on the lips.

“Thank you,” the Queen said as she headed toward the door. “Be right back.”

Emma sighed and fell back on the bed after Regina left. She waited minute after minute until it felt like hours since she last saw the brunette. When boredom became torture, Emma bit her lip and sat up in the bed. She remained completely still for a few moments, lost in an internal debate about her next move, before she came to a decision.

Emma stood and slipped out of Regina's chambers. She moved casually throughout the palace as she descended staircase after staircase, walked through the courtyard, and then traveled up the stairs in an almost adjoining building to the castle. It was one of the places she had yet to explore even though she'd seen it during her day of adventurous exploration. She decided she would take the seemingly abundant amount of time before Regina returned to their chambers to see what lay inside the tall, brick building.

Once inside, Emma first noticed the lack of guards. Regina usually had a guard or two positioned within the entrance of each area of the palace except for those just outside the main doors of the castle's double doors. Though she thought it odd, she shrugged it off and started to climb stair after stair past several closed doors.

The silence in the building suddenly chilled the blonde to the bone. Something felt off. There was a reason why the guards were elsewhere and Regina had been gone from the room a while. A breech in security could have been anything and if it actually was her parents, Emma knew they had nothing to worry about. Right? Her parents weren't killers and Regina promised not to hurt them.

A giggle erupted from the room Emma had stopped in front of when she had started to question to the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach that screamed for her to turn and run from the building.

Emma jumped and whipped her head in the direction of the giggle. Her eyes widened when she saw familiar tight, blonde curls and a wicked grin on light pink lips.

“If it isn't the darling princess,” Maleficent cooed as her face filled the four by four glass window on the door. “Are you here alone?”

Emma steeled her features as she overcame the initial shock of seeing the woman Regina had made disappear right before her very eyes almost a week ago.

“That matters not, Maleficent,” Emma said, her expression neutral if not a little tight and angered.

“Actually, it does. You see, Regina won't be pleased if you've wandered off. _But_ if you're here because you're allowed to go wherever and do whatever, you must have given yourself to her.”

“That is none of your concern.”

“Maybe not, but she really is an _excellent_ lover,” Maleficent purred. “And nothing would please her more than to have a taste of you. I see the way her eyes devour your body. The only way you can fully satisfy someone like her is to give her what she really wants.”

Emma thickly swallowed down the lump that had formed in her throat at the other blonde's most likely true words.

“A little advice,” Maleficent asked as she slowly looked Emma up and down and got as close to the window as possible. “She doesn't get off on being touched. Not as much as she does by touching others. No matter how hard you try to find all the right spots, she'll squirm until she has dominance over you.”

“If that was true, why would she be patient enough to wait until _I_ say she can?”

Maleficent chuckled.

“You just answered your own question, Princess. Dominance is more pleasurable when given permission to take it. To will yourself on someone is alluring enough, but it doesn't sate that hunger for complete control.

“She'll get tired of waiting, especially if she doesn't think you're worth it. And that all depends on how well you touch her. I suspect a virgin like yourself can only do so much.”

“I do more than enough,” Emma proudly stated. “ _You're_ the one who can't please her.”

Maleficent scoffed.

“You're jealous,” Emma continued. “And you also hate that I'm a princess. You have this perception that we're all like the princess you fell for, but did you ever think it wasn't the princess who was wrong for not loving you? Did you ever even consider there's a reason why she couldn't love you? Because in case you haven't noticed, she wasn't the only one to not love you.”

Maleficent seethed inside her cell.

“So you're trying to break up Regina and I because it's not fair she gets to fall for the princess and keep her too,” Emma continued. “Especially since Regina _also_ didn't return your love. I guess there's not a single person that _could_ love you.”

“You better hope Regina will be there to protect you when I get out of here,” Maleficent threatened.

Emma furrowed her brows.

“When?”

“Emma!”

The princess looked to the bottom of the stairs where the Huntsman swiftly moved toward her with wide eyes.

“There you are,” the Huntsman said as he gently grabbed her elbow and pulled her along with him toward the building's entrance. “You need to leave the palace. There's a horse waiting for you near the barrier. I assume you'll be able to weaken the magic used to create the barrier before you go, but–”

“What? No, I'm not leaving,” Emma insisted when they reached the last step.

“Regina is looking for you. Knowing how she feels about your mother–”

“She won't hurt me,” Emma insisted. “Why does no one believe me when I say that?”

“Emma, your parents are worried about you. The longer you're here, the more likely the Queen will poison your mind.”

“Are you working for my parents?”

“I told you the Queen has my heart. I'm here because the Queen keeps me here.”

Emma shook her head.

“That doesn't answer my question.”

“We haven't much time, Emma,” the Huntsman hurriedly said. “You either leave or you return to the Queen immediately. She's very upset with you.”

“Then take me to her,” Emma said, her expression furious with the man who yet again dared try to force her to leave the palace.

The Huntsman sighed through his nose as he stared at Emma for a few seconds, her determination clear and her mind made up.

“As you wish,” the Huntsman bowed his head then led her out of the building.

Once the two of them were gone, murky red smoke swirled in front of Maleficent's door.

“It took you long enough,” Maleficent flatly said, agitated.

“Now that I know she's here, I no longer need your help, dearie. Are you sure you want to use that tone with me?”

Maleficent just glared at Rumpelstiltskin through the window.

“That's what I thought,” he said before he gracefully flicked his wrist.

The door unlocked and opened at his command and Maleficent stepped out of the room with a wicked smirk.

“Which cell is she in,” he seriously asked.

Maleficent looked up and nodded at the door at the top of the winding staircase.

Without so much as a thank you, Rumpel disappeared in his usual red smoke and reappeared outside of the door. Just as he did for Maleficent, Rumpel used his magic to unlock the cell. He then stepped inside and looked around the room until his eyes fell on the thing he wanted but still didn't quite expect to see.

“Belle,” he softly asked, his eyes slightly wide and his mouth open as he stared at her scraggly brown hair.

Her long locks weren't brushed and were draped over her face as she sat curled up by the window that overlooked the palace with her knees to her chest. She rested her arms over her knees and slowly turned to face the man who called her name.

Piercing blue eyes gazed up at him as he stood completely still only a step or two inside the cell. Her lips parted with the shock of seeing him again, seeing _anyone_ she recognized again.

“Rumpel,” she whispered.

His lips slowly turned up into a smile and he moved toward her. Within seconds, he wrapped her up in a hug and spoke into her hair with a rough voice strained by the tears he tried not to shed.

“I can't believe you're alive.”

When he pulled away from her, he smiled and only focused his eyes on her intense, blue gaze.

“What are you doing here,” she asked.

“I'm taking you home.”

***     *     ***

The Huntsman brought Emma up to Regina's bedchambers as agreed. On the way up to her chambers, he looked anything but happy. When he reached the chamber door, he forced himself to appear indifferent while he walked in with Emma on his heels.

“What did I tell you,” Regina barked as she rounded on Emma and the Huntsman, her fiery eyes focused solely on the blonde.

“I'm sorry,” Emma immediately started. “I got bored and went out to explore the palace more.”

“I _asked_ you to stay here,” Regina said as she took Emma's hand and yanked her away from the Huntsman and toward herself.

“I didn't know how much longer you were going to be and nothing you suggested for me to do seemed appealing,” Emma confessed.

Regina sighed as she pulled Emma into a hug and comfortingly rubbed her back a few times for good measure.

“I thought I made it clear when you went out to the stables in the middle of the night never to scare me like that again.”

“You did. I'm sorry. I really thought I would have made it back before you did.”

Regina pulled out of the hug and rested her hands on Emma's arms as she gently squeezed them.

“What if you were too weak to make it back to our chambers? What if someone had taken you from the palace before you could return? What if the breech in security just now had been someone dangerous that wanted to hold you captive?”

“Who was responsible for the breech,” Emma curiously asked.

Regina closed her eyes and shook her head, her expression a mixture between angry and concerned.

“None of the guards saw who it was. They were gone before I went downstairs. We searched, but they were gone from the premises by then,” Regina answered. “But that doesn't mean the threat isn't there.”

“You're right. Again, I'm sorry, My Queen,” Emma said and smiled as she used the royal title to address Regina.

Regina cupped the side of Emma's face and brushed her thumb over her the blonde's cheek. She tilted her head and a smile of her own slowly started to appear.

The Huntsman quickly noticed not only the title Emma had used, but Regina's reaction as well. His eyes widened in realization when he remembered earlier in the day that Regina had told everyone else to refer to her only as “Your Majesty”.

Regina hadn't corrected Emma. She had shown compassion with a simple yet meaningful touch.

The Huntsman's expression morphed from shock to apprehension. There was no way Regina loved the Princess. She was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. She was a bargaining chip to exact Regina's revenge on the fair queen. Surely, anything Regina did that resembled actual care or love or even a strong liking toward Emma was all a lie to cut deeper when she finally revealed her true nature, her true intentions, to the good family of three.

“Come,” Regina said to Emma as she lightly grabbed the woman's hands. “Let's get you into bed so you can rest.”

The Huntsman watched Regina pull Emma toward the bed then sit her down on it. He nearly grimaced at the thought of Emma sharing a bed with the Evil Queen, the woman out to destroy Emma's family at any cost.

“I'm not tired,” Emma stated.

“No matter. You'll rest until you're at full strength,” Regina insisted.

“Regina,” Emma slightly warned.

“Emma,” Regina mimicked the blonde's tone.

The princess sighed and unceremoniously fell back on the bed to lay down per the Queen's request.

“Thank you,” Regina grinned down at Emma then turned to the Huntsman.

Her grin disappeared in less than a second as she glared at the man.

“Leave us,” she quickly dismissed him and the other guard that had waited with her in her chambers for the blonde to be found and returned to her.

The Huntsman tried not to scowl at her even though he was more than displeased with the bed situation and bowed his head before he turned and exited the chambers.

The other guard followed him out and once Regina and Emma were alone in the room, the door closed behind the guard and the Huntsman. Only then did he growl as he headed down the hall, left to help protect the palace from unwanted visitors and unexpected attacks. He wanted to do no such thing. He wanted to fight the Evil Queen and free Emma from the evil woman's hold. He wanted to get the princess away from Regina and away from the palace. To do any of that, he knew what he needed.

And what he needed was what he had wanted for years.

He wanted his heart back.

***     *     ***

“Tell me more about little Regina,” Emma said with a bright smile as she reached out and pulled the brunette down on top of her on the bed.

Regina bit her bottom lip in a failed attempt to hide the matching smile on her face as she allowed herself to lay on Emma's body just as the blonde had effortlessly arranged it.

“But you still haven't told me about yourself, my love.”

Emma lifted her head in a flash and kissed Regina hard. She picked at the brunette's velvet dress where it clung to Regina's abdomen as she kept their lips pressed together for as long as possible before she dropped her head back onto the bed and caught her breath.

“I love it when you call me that,” Emma admitted as much as made it sound like an explanation for her actions.

“I'm glad. I would hate to call you that and learn that you hate it or didn't feel the same. Now, stop avoiding the subject and tell me something about you that I don't already know.”

Emma hesitated as she stared up at Regina and racked her brain for things to say. She had plenty of stories, but there was something she had to tell the woman above her that she knew would please her greatly to know. The longer she stared at Regina, the more safe and comfortable she felt about telling her. It took her another couple of seconds before her smile widened and she decided to just say it.

“Okay,” Emma started. “You want to know something about me you don't know?”

“I believe I said exactly that,” Regina said. “Please, Emma, enlighten me.”

Emma beamed.

“...I'm ready.”

Regina's jaw dropped and her smile immediately vanished in lieu of her shock.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Emma said as she nodded.

“Why...why now?”

Emma frowned.

“I thought you would be happy about this.”

“Oh, Emma, I am. But I want to know what's changed. You seemed close to being ready these past few days, but not thisclose. I just want to make sure something or someone hasn't rushed you in anyway, that _I_ haven't rushed you in any way.”

Emma quickly shook her head.

“Of course not. You've been nothing but patient. But I can see you are more than interested in what is between us, not just the physical attraction, and you are still the one I want to give myself to. Completely.”

Regina's eyes started to water with tears on the verge of release. She smiled at Emma as she slowly leaned in and pressed her forehead to the blonde's. She closed her eyes and smiled even more as she laughed with relief.

“What is it, My Queen,” Emma asked as she laughed with Regina. “What amuses you?”

“Nothing amuses me,” Regina replied. “I'm happy.”

“I made you happy?”

“Yes,” Regina breathed out with a small laugh, still noticeably relieved.

Emma tipped her head back and brought her lips up to Regina's. She tenderly kissed the brunette for several precious seconds before Regina slowly, almost reluctantly, pulled away.

“Will you have me, My Queen,” Emma asked.

“Forever, my love.”

Emma smiled and went in for another kiss, but Regina pulled back.

“After you regain more of your strength,” Regina added.

Emma furrowed her brows and was a frown away from pouting as she considered the brunette above her.

“You've been waiting for this even before I first touched you. Why not have me now?”

“You'll be just as ready tomorrow night as you are now, won't you?”

“Well, yes, but–”

“Then let me surprise you,” Regina cut Emma off. “Tomorrow will be one of the best days of your life and to commemorate it, and celebrate our love, we will officially make this bed ours.”

Emma bit her lip as smiled again. She nodded her agreement and placed a hand on the back of Regina's neck before she pulled her down for a heated kiss. Just when Emma's hands started to wander and Regina whimpered in response to all the attention, the brunette broke the kiss.

“You're a naughty little thing,” Regina smirked. “Tomorrow, dear Princess. We shall enjoy this _tomorrow_.”

Emma puffed out a sigh as Regina rolled onto her side next to the younger woman.

“Now tell me something about your past,” Regina said. “I told you about my father. It's your turn to share something.”

“Right,” Emma said as she shifted onto her side to face Regina as they lay sideways together across the bed. “Okay. When I was nine, I had a fascination with my father's sword. I kept trying to steal it from him at all times. Whenever he'd wear it, I would try to sidle up beside him and slip it out of his sheath and whenever he left it in my parents' chambers, I would sneak in and grab it. Somehow, though, he always knew I was there. Every time I even touched it, he would laugh and pull me away from it.”

Regina smiled as she imagined it.

“One day, he brought me a wooden sword he had Geppetto make. Oh, Geppetto is a woodcarver that my family is really close with. Anyway, my father told me I could show him how I would fight with a real sword using the wooden one. If I proved myself worthy, he said he would let me practice with his sword.”

“I imagine you didn't fight so well,” Regina happily and knowingly grinned.

“Not at all,” Emma laughed. “I had absolutely no grace or technique.”

“He should have taught you to use the wooden sword so one day you could use a real one. If you showed any determination to learn, it would have been in everyone's best interest.”

“He tried,” Emma shrugged. “He taught me a few things here and there, but then I got older and there were suitors to impress and a kingdom to learn about. Plus, I told you about the time I finally got my hand on his sword. I almost sliced him open.”

“Well, if you still wish to learn how to properly wield a sword, maybe I can arrange for one of my men to teach you. In fact, I might even ask a _few_ of them to teach you their individual techniques. Though the way to wield a sword is mostly standard practice and universal for every guard and knight, everyone has their own ways of handling weaponry, especially considering how different the weapons and guards are. You are a petite young woman. You probably have to use different muscles to achieve the same results as some of my best men.”

“You would do that? Have them teach me how to use a sword?”

“I would give you anything you desired,” Regina said. “You wormed your way into my life and my heart. And I believe it happened long before your masquerade ball.”

“Well, I believe you've done the same. Why else would I have attempted to walk through a mirror to get to you?”

“Because you thought I was pretty and didn't know any better than to go walking through glass,” Regina joked. “Idiot.”

Emma laughed.

“Yes, well, what does it say about you that you really like this idiot?”

“It says I have good taste.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, because though you may be an idiot, you only do such foolish things out of bravery and exercise of your strong will. You're also _my_ idiot so it matters not what others think for me liking one. So long as you're mine, it shows there's something more than hopeless feelings for a hopeless woman.”

“That's all fine and well, My Queen, but please tell me my new nickname isn't 'my idiot'.”

Regina chuckled.

“Of course not, dear. You will always be, from today forward, my love.”

“I think I should have another nickname for you.”

“You do?”

“Yes, I can't imagine always calling you 'My Queen'. That should be reserved for specific intimate moments. Remember that we are equals. If I call you that, it means I am giving you more power than the status of an equal.”

Regina's face almost fell as her heart started to sink fast.

“Which I don't mind doing,” Emma quickly added. “But 'my love' is something that expresses your true feelings toward me. I want something like that for you. I want you to know how I feel with just one or two words. Something to call you so you know you are mine and I am yours.”

“Surely anything will do,” Regina said as she started to run her fingers up and down Emma's side. “Do you not already have a few names to call me?”

“True, though I want to settle on just one that I will use for most, but necessarily every, situation.”

“Hmm,” Regina scrunched up her face in thought. “You could always call me just as I call you.”

“My love?”

Regina smiled.

“It sounds perfect when you say it.”

“I think it's unique to you.”

“We don't have to decide on just one right now, do we? We have plenty of time together for you to find something you like more than all the others,” Regina said. “Besides, I'm sure we've had this conversation before and there was just one name you insisted you'd use and nothing else would do.”

“So quick to change the subject. Is there something else you would prefer to do right now,” Emma smirked as she brushed a few strands of Regina's hair away from her face.

“You could tell me where you were when I couldn't find you.”

“I thought you were about to tell me you're too impatient to wait until tomorrow evening to touch me,” Emma said as she moved in a little closer, her lips a breath away from sealing Regina's in a kiss.

“I'm certainly impatient, but I can control myself. I already have so many things planned for the day. I promise it will be worth the wait for us both.”

“I trust you.”

“Good. Then you'll tell me where you were today.”

“I...saw Maleficent,” Emma carefully said.

She knew better than to lie to Regina and she really didn't want to hide what she'd done and said, but she also knew that Regina most likely would not have been pleased to hear about her visit with the other blonde. She was right.

“You went to the dungeon?”

“Yes.”

“Did you talk to her?”

Emma nodded.

“What did she say? Did she mention something about me, about us? You know she only says those things to bait you.”

“I know.”

“Is that why you suddenly think you're ready?”

“No. Regina, I _know_ I'm ready and it has nothing to do with her. When she started to talk about us, I told her she was jealous and that no one seemed to love her. She didn't really have anything to say after that.”

“You stood up to her?”

“Someone other than you had to do it. But she did threaten me. It's not like I made her cry or got her to back off.”

Regina grinned.

“What,” Emma asked, confused even as she smiled at the look on Regina's face.

“I approve,” Regina said. “She only threatens those who hurt her or threaten her first. I can't say I completely enjoy the fact that you made her your enemy, but I suppose she always would have seen you as hers. ...You're a tough one.”

“Tough enough I guess,” Emma shrugged with one shoulder as she and Regina both remained on their sides.

“Can't take a compliment,” Regina started. “I'll be sure to fix that.”

Emma chuckled.

“We have a lot of daylight left,” Emma said after a moment. “What else can we do so long as you have me cooped up in our chambers?”

“You asked me earlier to tell you more about little Regina.”

“That's right,” Emma lit up. “Tell me another story about you as a child.”

“Just before Daniel came to work with his father at our stables, and sometime even after he and I had first met, I used to run in the field just behind the stables.”

“Beyond the forest? Between your stables and the nearest town where we went to the market?”

“That very field,” Regina smiled. “You should know as well as I do how often it rains here in the fall.”

“Of course,” Emma exclaimed. “I'm always getting caught in the rain. My parents or the guards have to yell at me to get me inside.”

“I was much the same back then. You've seen the field too so you know it truly is a field. There are no crops, just grass and open space.”

“Mhmm,” Emma agreed.

“Until I was almost fourteen, I would braid my hair before I left and tell my mother I was going to visit the stables to learn more about the horses so I could ride them better once I started my lessons. She only agreed because she wanted me to be the best at everything a princess was expected to know how to do. I may have hated it then, but at least I got it to work in my favor.

“So I would travel out to the field by myself and run around, sometimes even roll in the grass. I spent a lot of time inside due to my mother's strict orders. I couldn't stand that feeling, being trapped and under her thumb. It's why I loved riding so much once I started. The freedom of being out in the open air.

“But in the fall, that rain would come and I refused to head back to our castle. I played and played all through the rain and it made the grass in the field muddy. I stopped around in the puddles and the mud and got as dirty as I could. My mother almost suffocated me with her magic when she finally caught me coming back to the castle as filthy as I was.”

Emma furrowed her brows.

“You said you did this for a couple years?”

“Yes.”

“Then how–”

“I told you my father would sneak me all the foods my mother forbid me to eat. The first time I was out in the rain, he met me in the foyer and saw me soaking wet and covered in mud with dirt under my fingernails. He would sneak me past my mother and her favored guards and kept it our little secret.”

“Did you ever go out there with Daniel after you met him?”

“Twice. The second time was when my mother saw me. Thankfully she didn't know I'd been there with Daniel, but...”

Emma reached out and stroked her thumb over Regina's cheek.

“It's okay. You can cry about him or stop talking about him if you want. ...I'm here.”

Regina flashed a small but warm and appreciative smile.

“Thank you, dear, but I'm okay. I still miss him, but I can finally talk about him again. It doesn't hurt as much now that I have you with me. How do you do that?”

Emma shrugged with a smile.

“I don't know. But I'm glad it hurts less. I don't want you to replace his memory by being with me though. You're free to always have a place for him in your heart, but I hope that doesn't mean you can't love me the same or as much as you love him.”

“Never,” Regina firmly, confidently, said. “Yes, he will always been in my heart. Just as my father will and, unfortunately, my mother as well. But there is still plenty of room for you. I will never love him more than you, but I'm not sure I'll ever love him any less than you either.”

“I understand.”

“You do?”

“He's your first love and he's a part of you. As long as you no longer get caught up in what might have been had he lived, I can respect how you feel about him. As for your mother, I understand that too. We don't get to choose our parents and though they might do things we wish they hadn't, that doesn't make us love them any less.”

“You are wise beyond your years,” Regina proudly smiled.

“I think I knew as a child that I loved you so I must have figured the best way to an older woman's heart would be to not act so childishly,” Emma jokingly said.

Regina laughed.

“You still had a somewhat normal childhood for a princess, however. Did you not?”

“I did, but I never liked anyone my age. They were all too privileged. As I've said, I didn't start rebelling until later in life even with having the barrier in place around my family's palace.”

“Yes, I recall you telling me you had to be careful not to upset your father because of his heart.”

Emma nodded.

“Though it's weak, it's remarkably resilient. Doc and the Blue Fairy both agreed that his heart should not have been able to sustain so many years in its state after the shock it endured from the mirror incident.”

“I know your father well enough to know he would never leave you and your mother unless he knew you two would be fine. I'm sure he's fought his heart condition this entire time just to protect you.”

Emma frowned then.

“Do you think all this time I've spent here has hurt him? I don't just mean mentally. Physically, do you think him fighting alongside my mother to get me back has stressed his heart?”

“You worry too much,” Regina soothingly said as she moved closer to Emma. “I told you, he's not going anywhere so long as he thinks you need protection. You get that from him, you know. Your stubbornness comes from your mother without a doubt, but your heart and tenacity...that's all him.”

“You truly think that?”

“I knowit,” Regina said with conviction and smiled.

Emma smiled back.

“How about we share more stories over a good meal,” Regina asked. “I haven't eaten all day.”

“Me either.”

“Then it's settled. We'll have Cook make us a special treat and I'll tell you about the strangest days I had when you were older because of that magical, magnetic pull in my stomach.”

“I wonder if they're as strange as mine.”

Regina raised an eyebrow, surprised and intrigued.

“It seems we have much to discuss.”

“I'm confident we'll cover a lot of ground. We have the rest of the day, after all,” Emma said with a cheeky smile then leaned in and chastely kissed Regina.

“Indeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Not only am I back with a new chapter for this story, but I've got TWO chapters for you tonight. This one is a little over 10k and the next one is over 8k. This chapter was getting too long so I split it in two and finished both of them about a month ago, but couldn't find the time to proof read them. So, they're late, but there's a lot. And two chapters seemed like the right way to show how Regina treats Emma on their special day. I hope you enjoy.

With his thick, fur shawl draped over his shoulders, the Huntsman made haste to get away from the castle in the middle of the night. He kept his eyes peeled in the darkness, intent on finding something specific. And he found that something waiting on the other side of a faint, golden glow.

The hooded figure dipped their head as the Huntsman approached the barrier and moonlit arms reached up and pulled back the material that shadowed the person’s face. Long, dark hair appeared underneath the removed guise and a familiar face lifted to reveal the previously shadowed woman as Red.

The Huntsman sighed out his relief then spoke.

“You made it,” he said.

“Of course,” Red replied. “Now what is the urgent news about my goddaughter and the Evil Queen?”

“I fear they’re becoming too close.”

“How so?”

“Her Majesty is possessive of the princess.”

“That was to be expected once we realized she did not intend to kill Emma.”

“And the princess is content to stay,” the Huntsman finished.

Red’s eyes widened.

“It must be a trick, a spell,” Red immediately insisted.

“Whatever Snow White and her prince plan to do to get their daughter back, they need to act as quickly as possible…before it’s too late to save the princess from Queen Regina.”

“Snow should never have let her live,” Red growled. “Thank you for your service, Huntsman. Snow is in your debt, though she asks a favor of you.”

“If it helps free the princess from Queen Regina, I will gladly grant it.”

* * *

The morning sunrise bathed Regina’s chambers in warm oranges and joyous yellows as she smiled down at her princess.

The brunette lay on her side, propped up on her elbow, and danced her fingertips over and across Emma’s smooth, exposed thighs. Apparently, during her slumber, the blonde’s sleepwear had rode up and uncovered everything but what was between the younger woman’s legs.

Regina lightly stroked various patterns over Emma’s thighs while her eyes roamed over the blonde’s body from closed green eyes and almost golden tresses down to where her fingers traced circles, infinity symbols, and several other things on the woman’s skin.

While Emma continued to sleep, Regina leaned down and chastely kissed Emma’s chest. She looked to see if her action had caused the princess to stir, but it hadn’t. Regardless of the lack of effect it seemed to have, Regina moved lower down Emma’s body then kissed her covered torso while she continued to trace patterns on Emma’s thigh.

Her princess still had yet to wake, but Regina wasn’t upset. In fact, her smile spread wider across her face while she exercised her flexibility and maneuvered her mouth to the place on Emma’s thigh that her fingers previously touched. When she brought her mouth down toward the more inner part of Emma’s thigh, she went one step further to celebrate the special day with a slow and teasing lick form her tongue before she kissed then sucked on the princess’ thigh.

Emma’s foot slid up the bed as she bent her unbothered leg at the knee and moaned. She slowly started to open her eyes while she reached down and weaved her fingers through long, brunette hair fanned out over the top of her hip and by her side on the bed. She gently tugged at it and lifted her head up just far enough to see what had roused her from her sleep.

Regina stopped kissing Emma’s thigh to turn her head and meet the blonde’s gaze. As she did, she saw a precious view up the silk nightgown she wore and her eyes landed briefly on the princess’ undergarment. She refused to focus her attention on that sight, though it was much enjoyed, and locked eyes with the younger woman instead.

“Good morning, my love,” Regina happily purred.

“Good morning, my queen,” Emma greeted with a smile. “Any particular reason you’re down there?”

Regina chuckled.

“Do I need a reason?”

“Only if you wish to convince me you’re not impatient for tonight.”

“I’m not impatient,” Regina said. “I’m excited to spend the day with you. Truthfully, I already had today planned before you said you were ready. Now that we know how this night will end, today means even more to me.”

Emma’s smile grew.

Regina leaned down and pecked Emma’s thigh before she returned to her original position pressed against the blonde’s side while the princess remained on her back.

“Well, I hope you weren’t about to cheat me out of my virginity while I slept,” Emma joked.

“Never, my love,” Regina said before she chastely kissed Emma on the lips.

“Mm. Is that why my nightgown is practically bunched up at my hips?”

“That was entirely your doing. I woke up and found you just as you are now.”

Emma reached up and grabbed Regina by the back of the neck. She pulled the brunette’s lips down onto her own and kissed her. The kiss quickly escalated and as it did, Emma slid her hand from Regina’s neck down to her hip and pulled the woman closer.

Regina rolled herself half on top of Emma at the blonde’s request as her knee slid into place between the princess’ legs due to blonde’s insistent hand pulling her closer.

The two of them wore similar nightgowns, both silk, which caused Regina’s bare thighs to encase one of Emma’s when the hem of her own gown slid up toward her hips. Regina moaned into the kiss while Emma whimpered soon after.

Regina slowly pulled back from the kiss, effectively breaking it, and contentedly sighed when she opened her eyes to look down at Emma.

Green eyes met hers within a matter of seconds and the women shared a smile.

“Before we get ourselves too worked up,” Regina started, “we should go.”

“Where are we going?”

“I told you yesterday to let me surprise you,” Regina said with a large smile.

Emma laughed.

“Okay. I’ll let it be a surprise,” she easily agreed to the Queen’s terms.

Regina removed herself from the bed and extended a hand to Emma.

“Get dressed and I’ll do your hair,” Regina said as Emma accepted her hand.

Emma hung both legs over the side of the bed and Regina eased her onto her feet.

“It sounds like you want to dress me up to your standards,” Emma teased with a raised brow.

“Not at all, dear,” Regina assured her as she led the princess to the closet. “There is just something I want to do to your hair that I think will absolutely make you glow.”

“I thought that wasn’t supposed to happen until later this evening,” Emma said, confused.

Regina smirked.

“Yes, in due time,” the brunette confirmed, “but not everything I can do to make you look radiant involves sex.”

A small blush colored Emma’s cheeks as she smiled.

“Now, what shall you wear? I have a few dresses–”

“I don’t prefer dresses,” Emma interrupted with her face scrunched up in slight disgust at the thought.

Regina softly laughed, a small sound concealed under her breath though she wasn’t trying to hide it.

“They aren’t terrible, nothing like your mother’s taste. I assure you there are plenty in here that are slimming and free flowing.” As if her wardrobe was conspiring with her to make her point, Regina’s fingers skimmed over the perfect dress to showcase just the type of style she had mentioned. “Here’s one.”

Regina turned and held up the dress to Emma’s form and inspected the color the fair princess’ skin tone.

“It should fit,” she said. “Do you like it?”

If ever there was a beautiful and puff-free princess dress, the one Regina held up to her body was it. The lilac colored dress hung loose past the hips and down over the legs while the midsection was a form-fitting corset. The partially transparent and matching straps would hug Emma’s shoulders when she put it on and the entire dress would compliment her light skin just as it would easily compliment Regina’s olive tone as well.

“It’s gorgeous,” Emma breathed out, awestruck. “Is this one of your own?”

Emma started to run her hands over the fabric and caress the gown as she kept it pressed to her body.

Regina proudly smiled as she watched Emma play with the small diamond gems embedded in the corset portion of the dress and slide her fingers over the light gray stitching that made swirling patterns that connected the shiny stones.

“Yes. One of the five my mother pressured me into wearing as a princess.”

“Is that why you don’t wear them anymore? Because she forced you to wear them?”

“That and the fact that they’re called ‘princess dresses’ for a reason. Once I was married to the King and…I started to change, the princess dresses were not something a Queen should ever be seen wearing. They are for those with innocence used to wrap up the perfect present for the highest bidder.”

Emma frowned.

“Are you wrapping up the perfect present when you ask me to wear this,” the blonde sadly asked.

Regina realized her mistake and shook her head.

“Oh, no. I’m sorry, my love. That’s my cynical opinion toward the way my marriage changed my life. It wasn’t a great experience for me so I never think highly of most royals for the way they treat a union between their daughters and an ‘influential’ man from another royal bloodline.”

“Tell me about it. My parents of all people should understand how important finding true love is and yet, they depend on me to find a husband in power that would unite two strong kingdoms. They don’t think much like parents anymore. They think more like a King and Queen.”

“Those men are no match for you,” Regina said as she defiantly, almost haughtily, lifted her chin.

Emma smiled at the display.

“I want nothing to do with them anyway,” Emma said. “You know that.”

“Yes, and you have me now. No need for those scoundrels when you have successfully paired yourself with a doting Queen,” Regina added as she closed the space between them.

Regina wrapped an arm around Emma’s waist and held her close, the dress flush between them, as she kissed the princess.

“That is undeniably true,” Emma agreed and beamed when the kiss ended.

“Do you want to pick out my dress or would you prefer for my outfit to be one of the many surprises I have for you today?”

“Make it a surprise.”

Regina nodded.

“Then I shall let you change in private and return when you emerge,” Regina said then turned and started to walk back into the room.

“Strange that my queen doesn’t want to take a peek even the slightest bit,” Emma devilishly teased with a devious smirk on her face as Regina turned to face her.

“Oh, I very much would like to, but I can control myself,” Regina said as she stepped toward Emma again.

Regina then swiftly pulled down both of the shoulder straps to Emma’s nightgown, which then fell and folded over to expose the younger woman’s chest, but nothing else.

“But I only have so much control,” Regina amended before she leaned down and placed a wet kiss between Emma’s bare breasts.

Emma ran a hand through Regina’s hair while the Queen’s sinful and full lips were still pressed to her chest, before the brunette stood up straight.

“You peeked,” Emma said with a large smile just as Regina started to pull away and stand up at full height.

“You tempted me.”

“I can’t say that I’m sorry.”

Regina chuckled.

“Good. I don’t want you to be sorry for being yourself around me. You are wild yet tame, a constant contradiction. The different sides to you that I’ve seen are equally appealing and I wouldn’t change a thing about you.”

“I feel the same about you. Although, I do wish to be with someone that doesn’t immediately resort to killing.”

“And I’ve already made adjustments to that part of myself. Besides, the only part about killing I’ve ever gotten a thrill from is the moment just after death. That’s the moment I know I’ve won, but as time goes on the more I feel tainted and trapped under the weight of my dark soul and troubled conscience.”

“Oh, my dear and tortured queen,” Emma sympathetically pouted as she soothingly ran a hand through Regina’s hair.

Regina leaned into the touch and purred.

Emma could have compared the woman to a cat as she considered the way the brunette moved.

“We have much to see today,” Regina said as she reluctantly moved away from Emma’s touch. “Do not distract me or we’ll never get through everything I have set up for our date.”

“We could always skip to the end,” Emma suggested.

Regina pinned Emma with a playful glare.

“I may want you, my love, but I will be nothing except chivalrous and romantic. You deserve more than simply laying there in wait for me to feel your body all day. It sounds horrifically cheap if I do not first show you I’m interested in showing you around and making you smile outside of the bedchambers.”

Emma crookedly smirked.

“There’s my fiercely protective and loving Regina.”

“The part of me that is strictly reserved for you, my love. Tell no one how considerate and weak I am.”

Emma laughed.

“You’re not weak,” the princess said as she stepped into Regina’s personal space, her breasts still out in the open. “You are what many should aspire to be. You’re mine and you’re just right.”

Emma hugged Regina and felt the warmth between them. It wasn’t born of sexual desire in that moment. It was body heat shared between two people wrapped in an embrace.

“My sweet, perfect Emma,” Regina said before she kissed the blonde’s cheek then extricated herself from the other woman’s arms. “Come along. We’ve wasted far too much time talking. There is still so much to do outside of the palace. Dress quickly.”

And she did.

Emma wiggled her way into the light purple dress and found a pair of matching shoes in Regina’s walk-in closet. She slipped them on and fastened the straps around her ankles before she walked over to Regina, who sat in the chair in front of her mirror.

“If you wanted me to dress quickly, you could have just used magic,” Emma said as she crossed the room and draped her arms over Regina’s shoulders before she kissed the Queen’s cheek.

Regina smiled.

“There is a reason why I didn’t,” she said as she turned in the chair and looked up at Emma.

“And what reason is that?”

“You’ll see later tonight.”

Emma’s eyebrows rose toward her hairline as a blush consumed her cheeks.

Regina laughed.

“No, dear, not in the bed. If you’d like me to use magic there, however–”

“No!”

Regina arched a well-shaped eyebrow.

“I don’t…want you to use magic on me. It’s my…first time, as you know, and I don’t want… Being with you so intimately is one thing. To add magic is another entirely.”

“I understand. I’m glad you share my feelings about this.”

“I do?”

“Of course. I would never use magic on you for your first time unless you explicitly asked me too. I’m sure there is not a thing you could ask of me that I would not do for you. Plus, this isn’t just your first time. It’s _our_ first time together and you’re too special to me for me to ruin this night with sex magic.”

“But…if I’ve already touched you, doesn’t that mean our first time together was at the stables?”

“I suppose you’re right, but not even then did either of us use magic. Now, shall I change first or would you like me to do your hair?”

“That depends. Would you prefer to lace up my corset before you change?”

Regina smiled.

“If lacing it right now would make you more comfortable in the dress, I’ll do it now,” Regina said as she gently pushed Emma’s shoulder and made the younger woman turn around.

Emma slowly turned to give Regina full access to the laces. She looked over her shoulder and smiled as Regina carefully grabbed the laces. She tried to withhold a giggle as she locked gazes with the brunette.

“Someone’s happy,” Regina grinned as she tied up the back of the dress.

“My girlfriend wants to surprise me because she wants today to be special. Of course I’m happy.”

Regina’s grin transformed into a bright and beautiful smile. She stepped closer as she weaved the laces together again.

“As it should be,” Regina started. “I want only the very best for my princess.”

“I wonder if we’d met before my masquerade ball if I could have been this happy years ago.”

“Oh, my love, I wish nothing more than to make up for those years. You should never have had to live like that.”

Emma shrugged.

“That’s what life as a princess is like,” she said. “You had it worse.”

Regina grimaced.

Emma spun around to face Regina once again, the silky laces not completely tied yet.

“Why should today be all about me,” Emma asked. “I’m grateful, but it has just occurred to me that you have probably never had anything special done for you.”

Regina shook her head.

“No, dear. It’s not about me. Today—and tonight—are about giving you the experience I never had.”

“All the more reason to finally give _you_ the experience you _should_ have had.”

Emma took Regina’s hands in hers and stepped as close to the brunette as she could without brushing their bodies flush against each other.

“Take me out, show me all the surprises you have planned, and make love to me tonight, but allow me to cherish you and remind you what it’s like to be loved,” Emma said.

Regina smiled, her eyes a little teary as emotion almost overwhelmed her.

“You remind me every day,” Regina confessed as she closed the tiny bit of remaining space between them.

Regina chastely kissed Emma on the lips, but when she felt Emma let go of her hands in lieu of settling them on her hips she slid her own hands up into blonde tresses before she deepened the kiss.

Emma’s hands slipped from Regina’s hips and squeezed the queen’s ass. Her fingers accidentally hooked under the comfortable fabric of Regina’s sleepwear and pulled it up with her as she squeezed the woman’s supple backside.

Regina moaned into the next kiss and Emma took the opportunity to slide her tongue past parted lips. That caused Regina to whimper and arch her back to press herself further against the blonde.

Emma wrapped and arm around Regina’s waist, one hand still on her ass, and lifted the queen off the ground.

Regina instinctively wrapped her legs around Emma’s waist as their lips broke apart due to their movement. When Emma moved in for another kiss, Regina pulled her head back to maintain eye contact.

“Tonight,” Regina gently insisted with a smile. “We’ll do all of this tonight.”

“But you look so good right now,” Emma smirked.

“And _you_ have surprising strength,” Regina lightly laughed. “That is very helpful information.”

“There’s something more helpful to know than that.”

“Oh? And what is that, dear princess?”

“How much you like it when I do this...”

Emma spun them around and walked them into the closet.

Regina gasped as Emma effortlessly carried her into the closet then couldn’t contain the giggles that erupted from her when Emma laid her down on the chaise lounge inside the walk-in closet.

Emma stayed on top of Regina as she continued to hold the brunette, the queen still wrapped up in her arms.

“Oh, I liked that _very_ much,” Regina purred as she smiled up at Emma.

“Good,” Emma smiled back as she leaned down then pecked Regina’s lips, “because it was multitasking. Now you’re in the closet so you can finish lacing my dress before you yourself slip into clothes for the day.”

“I love it when you’re efficient.”

“I guess my royalty is showing in that case.”

“You’ll be showing much more of it later, won’t you, darling?”

Emma chuckled.

“Only for you, Regina,” Emma smoothly replied.

Regina hummed.

“Get off me. We’re wasting time gain,” Regina said with a hint of a laugh.

“Mm,” Emma scrunched up her face and pretended to think about it for a moment. “I’m not done yet.”

Emma dropped her head to Regina’s chest and slowly peppered kisses up, down, and across exposed olive skin.

Regina laughed soft and melodically with a sleep-husked voice. She brushed her fingers over Emma’s hair.

“Just don’t get me hot and bothered only to leave me wanting more.”

Emma mischievously grinned and locked eyes with Regina a moment before she rolled her hips to graze her clothed center over Regina’s.

Regina gasped then whimpered before she lifted her hips once for more friction.

“You are getting much better at this,” Regina noted.

“I’ve been thinking about our lessons and I watch you closely whenever I touch you. I told you I learn quickly.”

“You can show off what you’ve learned later, my love.”

“Yes, I know. I know,” Emma smiled. “We have places to be and surprises to see.”

Emma pecked Regina on the lips once, twice, and on the third time she slowly started to push herself up and off Regina and the chaise. She offered her hand to the other woman and helped Regina sit up. She smiled at the brunette then turned around and sat in the queen’s lap.

Regina smiled and took the laces in her hands before she finished typing up the back of Emma’s borrowed dress. Once she was done, Emma thanked her and tried to stand, but Regina grabbed her hips and pulled her back down into her lap.

“What is it,” Emma laughed as she looked over her shoulder at Regina.

“You are absolutely beautiful,” Regina cooed as she wrapped her arms around the princess’ waist from behind. “I am extremely lucky to have you here no matter the circumstances that brought us together.”

“You are sentimental today, aren’t you,” Emma asked, though she smiled as if she already knew the answer to that question.

“I feel unlike anything I have ever felt in the last three decades and some odd years. I finally have something to enjoy that isn’t about power over someone else. _You_ are the reason for that.”

Emma slightly turned her body in Regina’s lap to look at the queen more fully.

“I am glad I have you, Regina.”

Emma wrapped her arms around the brunette’s neck as she sat across the woman’s lap.

“I may not have seen much beyond my family’s palace and I have never before engaged in any type of courtship like I have with you…but I _know_ this is where I want to be. With you,” Emma finished.

Regina held Emma in her lap with one hand and held the blonde’s jaw and chin between thumb and index finger with the other. She tilted the younger woman’s head just enough before she kissed her. It was chaste and sweet, but it lasted for more than a simple second and expressed the part of Regina that only Emma got to see, the part that only Emma brought out of her.

Emma contentedly hummed with a warm smile on her face as she slowly pulled back then opened her eyes to look right at Regina.

“Now,” Regina started as he smiled back at the blonde, “will you finally allow me to get dressed?”

“I like what you’re wearing just fine, my queen,” Emma smirked as she proudly lifted her chin.

“I can wear something similar tonight, but you know as well as I that this negligee is not something to be seen in outside of the bedchambers.”

“Mm, all the more reason for me to be excited for tonight,” Emma cheekily grinned before she leaned in and pecked the other woman on the cheek.

Emma rose off of Regina’s lap and walked toward the closet door.

“I will be waiting in front of the mirror,” Emma said before she left Regina to change in private.

It felt like an eternity for Emma before Regina strode out of the closet, but at the same time it seemed like only minutes. And of course, it had been only minutes though not a few, more like several. Regina’s perfection took time, but Emma assumed it was rushed a tiny bit with the help of her magic.

Poised in front of the mirror, Emma saw Regina’s reflection as the queen approached her. The younger woman gasped when she saw Regina and that gasp caused Regina to stand still when Emma turned from the mirror to look at the queen herself.

Regina wore a tight black dress with a low neckline that exposed the valley between Regina’s breasts, which looked supple by the revealed portion of the soft, rounded flesh. Though the dress fit her form, it hung loosely past the waist just as Emma’s borrowed dress did. She had a fair amount of cleavage on display, but it wasn’t as distracting as it would have been in a number of her other dresses.

“You look incredible,” Emma said as she raked her eyes up and down Regina several more times. “You always look incredible, but today you almost…glow.”

Regina smiled. It started off as a grin that morphed into a genuinely happy smile she had displayed a lot more often as a young teen. She suddenly looked years younger.

“Thank you, dear,” Regina slowly said, her voice slightly husky but not in a seductive kind of way.

Regina closed the rest of the distance between them as Emma stood from the bench in front of the mirror. She pulled Emma into a comfortable hug and kissed her cheek.

“On the cheek,” Emma asked with a pout. “I give you the perfect compliment and you kiss me on the cheek?”

Regina chuckled.

“If I kiss you,” Regina started, “we would never leave the chambers. You have already proven that in the closet if not before then.”

Emma smirked.

“Fine. I shall take the kiss on the cheek and accept it,” Emma replied as she sat down in front of the mirror again. “Now fix my hair in the way you say will make me look wonderful.”

Regina smiled, almost from ear to ear, and stepped up behind Emma. She ran her fingers through strands of the princess’ hair and started to pin some of it back with one of her many clips.

Emma watched the Queen style her hair for the next several minutes when she didn’t close her eyes to revel in the feeling of Regina’s fingers through her hair. She even purred a few times and caused Regina to smile every time she did.

Not much longer after that, Regina finished. She placed her hands on Emma’s shoulders and cooed to ease the princess out her overly calm state. Only then did Emma open her eyes, which immediately met her reflection in the mirror as Regina lifted a hand mirror off of the vanity to show the blonde how her hair looked from the back.

“You’re glowing, my love,” Regina said with a smile as she looked at Emma through the mirror.

“Is that not what you wanted to accomplish,” Emma asked with a knowing grin as she turned to look over her shoulder at Regina.

Regina leaned in over that same shoulder and kissed her cheek. She pulled away for no longer than a second and smiled again at Emma before she moved in and tenderly kissed her on the lips. For a moment, they languidly moved together to get the most out of their kiss without going too far and keeping them from the day ahead.

They slowly broke away with flushed cheeks and giddy, practically lovesick expressions.

“I cannot wait for tonight,” Emma somewhat huskily said.

“I expected you to be more nervous than this.”

“Would you be disappointed if you knew I’m trying to hide it?”

“No, of course not,” Regina said as she rubbed Emma’s arms in a supportive and reassuring gesture. “You don’t have to be nervous, though. Not with me. But it is understandable if you are.”

Emma smiled up at Regina and turned around a little more to face the brunette at a better angle.

“I can’t thank you enough for being this patient with me.”

“Well, I have loved you a long time and I can’t ask the person I love to rush into something…no matter how much they think they are willing to push themselves into being ready for something like tonight.”

“How is it that no one else but me gets to see this part of you? This is the part that might just convince my parents not to marry me off to some slimy prince.”

Regina shook her head.

“They wouldn’t believe it to be real,” the Queen explained.

Emma sighed.

“Fine,” the blonde started, “then my mind is still made up. They don’t get to dictate my love life. I will stay with you as long as it takes for them to realize this is what’s best for me…and quite possibly for the kingdom, if you think about it.”

“Now is not the time to talk of such things. This is our day. You and me and all the surprises I have in store for you. If you want to explain how you could possibly think our union would be beneficial to the kingdom, you can tell me all about it tomorrow.”

Regina flashed a partially devious smile.

“Yes, tomorrow,” Emma widely grinned. “It will be a much brighter day tomorrow.”

“Indeed. Come, my love. Our carriage waits.”

Regina held out her hand and helped Emma stand up. She laced their fingers and walked side by side with Emma through the palace until she stopped the princess in front of her black carriage outside of the main castle entrance. Ahead of the carriage were two jet black horses to lead it wherever Regina insisted.

Emma gasped when she saw it and her eyes widened just before she turned around to look at the older woman. She placed both hands on top of Regina’s upward-facing palms. She held the Queen’s hands as she nearly bounced on her feet with joy at the sight of the carriage.

“My first carriage ride with you,” Emma happily said.

“You seem so overjoyed. I assume you have been in many carriages in your life.”

“Yes, but none with you. And most of those rides were for family travels that we usually used to talk to people outside of court. Otherwise, they were rides with suitors doing and talking about things I had no interest in.”

“Then I’m happy to be the first suitor you actually like to take you out. It would be my honor to make this day everything you want it to be and more,” Regina replied with a smile before she shook their joined hands between them.

“Your Majesty?” Bruce casually held out a hand with what appeared to be no more than a way to get the Queen’s attention without touching her.

Regina and Emma both looked over at Bruce who stood beside them.

“Any requests for the palace in your absence?”

“Same provisions as usual,” Regina said. “Keep watch at all times and find a way to inform me if something goes wrong.”

Bruce bowed his head in understanding.

“Then I shall you leave you, Majesty,” he said before he directed his next words at both of them. “Enjoy your day.”

With that, the head of Regina’s Royal Guard left them to their activities and the two women climbed into the carriage. Regina was just chivalrous enough to allow Emma to step inside first before she joined the blonde.

It didn’t take long for the carriage to move once the two women were situated comfortably across from each other inside. Just after the carriage lurched forward then jerked back as the horses started to lead it away from the castle, Regina brushed her hands over the skirt of her dress to rid it of any potential wrinkles. She appeared regal and a little stiff as though the carriage turned her back into the Queen she was when away from Emma.

“Regina?”

“Yes, dear?”

Emma shifted in her seat and picked at her dress as she readjusted it to suit her new position.

“Are you…alright?”

Regina tilted her head and gave Emma a curious expression.

“Yes. I’m here with you. How could I not be alright?”

Regina smiled, but it looked tight. It certainly wasn’t her usual smile directed at the princess.

“Is there something I can do to help,” Emma asked.

Regina breathed out a quick laugh.

“If there was, that would imply something is _wrong_ ,” Regina said with a hint of laughter.

Emma rolled her eyes.

“You don’t have to tell me what is bothering you, but please allow me to do something.”

Regina genuinely smiled that time. She looked down for a moment then looked at the blonde again.

“Here,” Regina said as she continued to smile then patted the spot next to her.

Emma rose from her place and took the two steps it took to sit beside the other woman. She turned toward Regina and swung her legs over the Queen’s lap before she leaned in and snuggled into her side, curled up against her. She rested her head on Regina’s shoulder and played with the hem of the brunette’s neckline from shoulder to chest.

“I would have felt much better by simply having you next to me,” Regina stated with a smirk, “but this will do nicely.”

Emma hummed as her lips curled into a smile.

“I rarely use carriages anymore,” Regina spoke again after a moment.

Emma lifted her head just enough to look at Regina.

“One of the last times I did was the night I cast the curse and tried to take you from your parents.”

“We could have ridden the horses then,” Emma frowned. “You didn’t have to present me with a carriage ride to make all of this special.”

Regina turned her head and looked at Emma. After a few seconds, she smiled.

“It’s fine,” she assured the princess. “I just didn’t realize how significant it is to give you a carriage ride on the night I _actually_ take you from your parents…when you think about it.”

Emma sighed and moved her fingers from Regina’s dress to the woman’s hair. She curled a strand around one of her fingers and scooted closer to Regina.

“Then don’t think about it. You are _not_ taking anything,” Emma explained. “It’s only taking if you don’t really love me and toss me aside when it’s over.”

“Never, Emma. I could never use you. You change me every day into the person I miss being and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Emma beamed and leaned in. She smiled into the kiss and almost pulled away after just the one, but couldn’t resist going in for another. Both were sweet and unhurried, but still small pecks.

“And I know that,” Emma said as she did in fact pull away then, “which is why this carriage ride has no connotations. Besides, I don’t think either one of us wants to think about my parents today.”

Regina chuckled.

“You’re right. Today, all I want to think about is you.”

Emma blushed and started to unwind the curled brunette hair from around her finger.

Regina stroked her thumb over Emma’s cheek and leaned in. The kiss was much slower that time and was certainly more than a peck on the lips. The carriage wheels hit a bump in the road and their teeth gnashed together.

“Oh,” Regina exclaimed before she took a second to laugh it off. “Sorry.”

Emma shook her head, which caused their noses to rub in an Eskimo kiss due to their unchanging proximity. She grinned as she stared into those deep brown eyes.

“I don’t mind,” Emma said.

Regina smiled like the young girl she used to be in the stables with the boy she loved after their rushed proposal and plan to run away together. She eliminated the small space between them and resumed their previous kiss. It heated up in seconds as she slipped her tongue into Emma’s inviting mouth and hummed her approval when she heard the princess gasp at the intrusion even though it was welcomed by another eager tongue.

Regina placed a hand on one of Emma’s knees and slowly started to slide it up the blonde’s thigh and with it she unintentionally lifted the skirt of Emma’s dress.

Emma pressed her lips harder against Regina’s as she leaned further into the other woman then allowed her to do the same. The princess leaned back as Regina moved forward in a way that was sure to maneuver the blonde onto her back.

When Emma lay back onto her elbows, her legs still across the brunette’s lap, Regina reached out and placed a hand on the seat behind Emma’s head, over her shoulder. Regina broke the kiss and looked over Emma’s face as the princess panted and slowly opened her eyes.

“Why did you stop,” Emma asked.

“This isn’t happening here,” Regina insisted with a small smile. “Nice try, my princess.”

Emma laughed.

“I assumed you wouldn’t blame me for trying. Although, it isn’t like I planned this.”

“No?”

Emma shook her head as Regina pushed back into an upright sitting position then held a hand out to her. Emma accepted it and Regina helped her up and off of her elbows.

“I didn’t decide to try it until that bump in the road. I truly just wanted to sit with you when I first asked if you were alright.”

Regina pulled down Emma’s dress, which had only been lifted far enough to expose shin and calves. Afterward, she patted Emma’s knee with a bright smile.

“What good have I done to deserve a sweet and considerate love like you?”

“Maybe it’s not about the good you’ve _done_ , but the good you will do now that you have me in your life. My mother says that she’s already given you a second chance, but maybe that wasn’t your real second chance. It seems fate wanted our destinies intertwined for that.”

“Although I’m changing, Emma, that doesn’t mean everything about my life or things in the kingdom will.”

“I believe one day it will mean exactly that. I have hope that our futures will not be as troublesome and damaging as our pasts.”

“Will you share that kind of hope and ability to believe in such happiness with me?”

Emma flashed her teeth in a wide and contagious smile.

“Of course,” she said as she grabbed one of Regina’s hands, laced their fingers, and held it in their laps before she rested her head on Regina’s shoulder again.

Regina closed her eyes for a moment and wore a smile to match Emma’s in warmth and contagiousness, though hers bared no teeth. She opened her eyes and took another second to bask in the moment before she rested her cheek on Emma’s head and melted into the moment without a care about her station, her past, or any other worries she normally had.

Their day together hadn’t even truly begun yet and she was already happy. Though, already probably wasn’t the right word. Finally was more like it. As Regina took the carriage ride to relax and curl up with Emma, she was finally happy.

* * *

The ride lasted a fair amount of time at such a leisurely pace, but the sun had only risen a little higher into the sky as they arrived. Afternoon was soon approaching, but they hadn’t spent more than an hour in their comforting embrace in the carriage.

They came to a stop in a mildly busy area that brought a smile to Regina’s face and a wondering and confused expression to Emma’s.

“We’re here,” Regina said as Emma straightened out and removed her legs from the brunette’s lap.

“Have we been here before,” Emma asked with a furrowed brow before the carriage driver pulled open the door.

“See for yourself,” Regina continued to smile.

Emma looked form the open carriage door to Regina. When she locked eyes with the other woman, Regina encouragingly nodded toward the door. So she went toward the door and nearly gasped as she stopped in the doorway.

Regina quietly came up behind her with her lips still curled into a large smile before she wrapped her arms around Emma’s waist. She turned her head and gave the blonde a lingering peck on the cheek.

“Welcome back,” Regina said as she held the princess a moment longer before she released Emma’s waist then moved around her and stepped down from the carriage with the help of the driver.

Regina turned to Emma and admired the look of awe and pure joy on her face as she looked around the recently visited place Regina had decided to take her back to for their big day. She extended a hand and waited until Emma finished gawking at the town Regina had bought her dream catcher from when the younger woman finally, almost absent-mindedly, took her offered hand. She helped the princess down from the carriage and refused to let go of her hand.

Emma squeezed Regina’s hand when the Queen laced their fingers and started to walk away from the carriage and further into the town. Regina smiled at the gesture then turned to their driver.

“You may take the rest of the day off. We’ll be here late into the evening, but when I chime,” Regina started as she tossed him a compact mirror, “you are to retrieve us from this area. Understood?”

The driver nodded his understanding and went back to the carriage before he left the women to do whatever it was they were going to do in the town.

“Why did you bring us here today,” Emma asked once Regina was all hers again.

“There’s a festival of sorts occurring today. I participate each year and I wanted to share it with you, regardless of what was or wasn’t going to happen tonight once we return to the palace.”

“Queen Regina,” an older man with gray hair beamed as he approached them. “Glad you could make it out again this year! Oh, and you brought your friend. Lovely!”

“Hello,” Emma greeted with a warm smile.

“Richard, dear,” Regina started with a smile to match the older man’s, “meet Princess Emma.”

“Ah,” he continued to smile as he held out a hand and shook the blonde’s. “I’ve heard that name before. Daughter of Snow White and Prince James?”

“Actually, I found out a few years ago that his real name is David,” Emma corrected. “And yes. You won’t tell them I’m here, will you?”

Richard shook his head.

“Heavens no. It matters not to us where you prefer to spend your time or who you spend it with. Though we’re more than happy to see it is Regina you’ve chosen to join while away from the Summer Palace.”

Richard looked to Regina then and widened his smile when their eyes locked.

Emma looked over and noticed Regina practically blushing at what sounded like a compliment.

“Everyone here seems so friendly with Regina,” Emma mentioned.

“Is that a problem,” Richard curiously asked.

“No, it’s nice. Where I’m from, as you might know, most people fear her or hate her or don’t want to get involved with her at all. No offense,” Emma said the last part to Regina.

“Oh, I know perfectly well how people feel about me in the kingdom,” Regina calmly said to Emma. “I’m not offended.”

“Regina has never done anything to harm us,” Richard replied. “She has helped us prosper over the years, even during her reign in what is now once again your family’s palace before King Leopold’s…death.”

“I used to come here as a child,” Regina further explained as she turned from Richard to Emma.

“And what a little rebel you were,” Richard chuckled. “Such a rascal.”

“Still am,” Regina proudly stated as she raised her chin a bit.

Richard continued to laugh while Emma smiled at the new information.

“Regina is family to us. No matter what she’s done to others, she’s never done wrong by us. We don’t condone her behavior, but we’re here if she needs us.”

Richard patted her shoulder and Emma watched as Regina allowed it to happen without so much as even the smallest of flinches.

“We’re happy to accept anyone Regina’s fond of into our little family here, but if you break her heart–”

“Oh, Richard,” Regina lightly admonished with a grin. “No need to threaten her. She is to be considered as much a part of this family as I am. She and I are more than a passing fling. You should know better than to assume I’d come here with someone I didn’t trust or wasn’t serious about.”

“You do have a point,” Richard said as he touched his fingers to his lips in thought.

He looked to Emma then and smiled again.

“You came on a good day. Our annual festival is this evening,” he informed her.

“Yes, Regina was just telling me about that. What exactly is the festival for?”

Richard took a breath as he opened his to mouth to explain, but not a word came out before the woman who owned the cart Emma had gotten her dream catcher from bounced over to them.

“Regina! You’re here,” the woman with dark, coppery red hair excitedly announced.

“Every year,” Regina responded.

“I assumed you would have stayed home this time on account of…” the woman’s eyes slid from Regina over to Emma and knowingly grinned.

Emma blushed and looked down at the ground.

“I wanted to share today with my love,” Regina said.

Richard and the redheaded woman gasped before their faces broke out with proud and overly joyous smiles.

Suddenly, before Regina or Emma knew what was happening, both Richard and the woman turned to face those moving around the area. The woman clapped several times while Richard’s voice boomed out to the small audience.

“Attention everyone,” Richard called out.

“Oh no,” Regina quietly said, though she smiled as she said it and caused Emma to look at her, still slightly confused as to what was happening.

“It has finally happened,” Richard continued as most of the people nearest to their little group of four stopped to listen. “Our Regina has found a companion, a _love_. She’s said it herself just now!”

A similar reaction to Richard’s and the redhead’s erupted from the villagers before they all clapped in celebration. A few whistles rang out among them and smiles adorned everyone’s faces for the next minute or so.

“There are here to enjoy our festivities,” the redhead yelled out to them as the claps and whistles quieted. “So let’s show them a good time and welcome this beautiful blonde to the village.”

“Lena,” Regina warned the redhead without anger or a biting edge to her voice.

“Only the best treatment for our dear Regina and her partner Emma,” Richard finished.

“Here, here,” several villagers cheered with raised fists.

Emma giggled as she wrapped an arm around Regina’s and gently pressed into the brunette’s side. She squeezed Regina’s hand again and buried her reddened face into Regina’s neck and shoulder.

“That is one way to come out,” Regina joked as she touched Emma’s hip with her free hand then proceeded to rub light circles on the blonde’s lower back as if to coax her out of hiding.

Richard and Lena turned back to face the adorable couple just as Regina turned her head toward Emma and kissed golden tresses. They smiled at the affection Regina showed the princess, but kept any comments or cooing and teasing sounds to themselves.

The other villagers returned to their tasks and milled about the area, some leaving to move further into the village and some visiting carts set up in the well-used clearing.

It took several seconds after Regina had kissed the top of Emma’s head before the younger woman slowly pulled away from the brunette’s neck. When she did, she kept her eyes on Regina before she locked eyes with the woman and bit her bottom lip as she sweetly smiled at her.

“Shall we walk for a bit, my love,” Regina suggested with the biggest of smiles that made her entire face light up as she maintained eye contact with Emma.

Emma only nodded in response before she leaned further into Regina then pecked the woman’s plump lips with her own thin yet perfectly kissable lips.

Regina contentedly hummed before she and Emma gave a short nod of acknowledgement to Richard and Lena.

“Nice meeting you. I’m sure we’ll see each other sometime later today,” Emma said as she and Regina headed further into the village.

“Indeed,” Richard said as he continued to stand next to Lena and the two of them watched the women leave them. “They are supposed to be enemies, but they fit together well.”

“Yes, it seems our friend has truly found the one after Daniel,” Lena added.

“Good for her,” Richard stated as Regina and Emma disappeared behind a few trees as they walked on.

* * *

For the next twenty minutes, Emma and Regina stopped at almost every cart in the marketplace as they browsed a selection of jewelry both rustic and of royal standards, fruit stands, more dream catchers, clothes, and a few things designated for the festival that involved flames and sparks like fireworks and sparklers.

“What would you say to having dinner here,” Regina asked as they traveled on foot past several modest houses.

“I can eat anywhere,” Emma breezily said as she kept close to Regina, their arms linked as they walked.

“Good, because there’s a big feast just before sunset and if you think watching the sunset at our spot or on the balcony at the palace is beautiful, wait until you see it after supper tonight.”

Emma looked at Regina and saw the heartwarming smile on her face. She smiled back even though Regina’s eyes were on the road ahead and sometimes even lingered to the villagers who worked outside their houses on their clothing lines or chased after chickens or children.

“It’s peaceful here,” Emma noted.

“Yes, it is,” Regina slowly agreed with a voice rich as it dripped out of her lips like honey.

“It seems, though, that there are only two classes in this kingdom: rich and poor. Isn’t there an in-between? Or could we create an in-between?”

Regina looked at Emma and beamed at her with pride in her eyes as well as the rest of her features as she tugged the princess a little closer to her.

“That is what I have been working on for the last few years. With the villagers’ consent, I plan to reinvent this place. Less dirt roads, patched up residency without leaks or wind damage. The best I’ve been able to do from my place in the Winter Palace I was banished to by your parents has been to ensure crops keep growing here and that this place doesn’t fall below its current standards.”

“Hmm,” Emma hummed and rested her head on Regina’s shoulder for a little while as they slowly continued through the village.

Emma looked around at the children playing with each other. Some of them fell into the dirt and went so far as to roll around as they played with their friends. Some caused trouble for other villagers as they purposely ran through clothing lines and weaved through the main road and several other houses. A few of them even emerged from houses laughing before they disappeared into another home. The smaller ones clung to their mother’s sides as they watched them work in the yard or, if they were too small, they remained on their mother’s hip while she rocked in a wooden chair on the porch. Some mothers had even joined each other on the same porch to sit and chat while they held their infants and eased them into slumber.

“Do you ever think about a little Regina or a little me running around the palace while we play games with them,” Emma asked as she fell into a trance watching the villagers go about their day.

Regina continued to walk with Emma, but she sharply turned her head to look down at the blonde head on her shoulder in wide-eyed shock.

Emma lifted her head from Regina’s shoulder and locked eyes with the other woman.

“What? Something I said,” Emma asked with a curious expression, her head tilted slightly to the side as she considered Regina.

Regina blinked a few times then subtly shook her head before she responded.

“Do you?”

“No…not until today, anyway,” Emma said before she flashed Regina a bright smile.

“First, you tell me you want me to make you promises in our vows though we’ve barely courted each other and now you’re telling me you want to have my children?”

Emma laughed. She looked happy and carefree and though Regina seemed to automatically reject the idea of making a family with her, Emma didn’t seem to take the brunette’s reaction negatively at all.

“Just imagine,” Emma continued down the path of that particular conversation, “a dark haired little girl with big brown eyes like her Momma or a light brown haired boy with my cheeky smile. We would read to them and tell them stories about us and our adventures. We would do everything our parents didn’t do for us but should have and they’ll only want to run off to be independent, not because they hate us or refuse to marry someone we think would best benefit everyone except them.”

Regina looked lost in thought for a few seconds as Emma described what sounded like a charming little family, a magnificent happy ending. And then she smiled. It was warm and infectious and she never wanted to stop smiling because the images Emma painted in her mind were everything she could have ever dreamed and more.

“Would it be possible for two women to have children together,” Emma asked and effectively pulled Regina out of her blissful thoughts.

“It is. It takes a bit of magic and love and a _lot_ of time in some cases, but it is possible,” Regina answered.

“Would you ever want to bare our children, my only?”

Regina’s previous smile slowly returned to her face with twice as much as warmth.

“Ours and only ours, my love,” she replied before she leaned in and tenderly kissed Emma. “But I don’t plan on birthing more than one of our little miscreants. You should have one too. It’s only fair.”

Emma laughed.

“I wouldn’t mind that one bit.”

“I feel we should save these conversations for the future, though, my dear. It’s much too soon to discuss children and marriage. We have forever together, if you’ll have me, but it is nice to know what we can look forward to together.”

“Forever looks promising from where I’m standing,” Emma said before she puckered her lips much like Regina had earlier that day.

Regina chuckled before she moved forward and pecked Emma’s lips with her own.

“We could rule the kingdom together,” Emma added. “You, me, and the little ones. Two houses least likely to join forces bound together by love and marriage and then we can make this village live up to its potential.”

“You never struck me as the type to enjoy ruling.”

“If I had a smart, sexy Queen I love by my side, I’d do everything I hate because I would hate it less with you.”

“You are just as mushy as your ‘charming’ parents.”

“And as much as you claim to hate my mother, and I guess ostensibly my father, you love me. …Which means, you kind of like them underneath it all.”

“Not in the slightest,” Regina throatily chuckled.

“Right,” Emma sarcastically drew out the word.

“Pipe down, dear, before I take back what I said.”

Emma giggled.

Regina bit her bottom lip as she looked over every inch of Emma. She grabbed both of Emma’s hands and spun the blonde in front of her before she pushed forward and caused Emma to start walking backward.

Emma almost stumbled a few times, but Regina held her steady as she rushed them away from prying eyes that belonged to nosy villagers who wondered about Regina and her blonde friend.

Regina pinned Emma against one of the trees that made up the forest area between the main road that wound through the quaint but busy village and a beach like area that had sand and a shack and waves that crashed against the shore. Emma didn’t have much time to thoroughly inspect their surroundings or enjoy the view of the water, however, because Regina’s lips crushed hers in a heated kiss.

Emma gasped then moaned into the kiss before she wrapped her arms around Regina’s neck and clawed at the back of the brunette’s dress to pull her closer.

Regina rolled her hips forward and pressed her lower body into Emma’s. She groaned at the contact then tangled a hand in blonde hair while her other hand trailed down the princess’ side and left the unexposed skin she touched with a fiery tingle in her wake.

“Regina,” Emma breathed out between kisses just before the brunette dipped her head down and started to kiss her neck.

“I couldn’t resist,” Regina panted against her neck before she licked then sucked on Emma’s pulse point.

“Oh gods,” Emma breathily moaned.

Regina rested a hand on Emma’s hip and kept the princess firmly pinned against the tree as she kissed and sucked the blonde’s neck a few more times before she reattached their lips.

Emma nipped Regina’s bottom lip and Regina slipped her eager tongue over the other woman’s equally enthusiastic tongue.

When Emma whimpered into their next kiss, Regina growled and untangled her hand from blonde tresses to cup the side of Emma’s face. She slowed their frantic kisses and eased herself away from the princess as she kept both hands in place on the other woman’s body.

Regina only pulled far enough away to make eye contact with Emma and when she did, she saw the confusion as well as the leftover lust in them.

“I thought you said you couldn’t resist,” Emma pouted.

“I couldn’t. I just wanted to kiss you…several times. You were too cute.”

Emma breathed out a couple of laughs before she bit her bottom lip.

“I will bite that lip if you don’t let go of it right now,” Regina flirtatiously threatened.

Emma’s smile spread but her teeth remained clamped down on her bottom lip for as long as she could hold it.

Regina lunged forward and claimed Emma’s bottom lip just as Emma released it. She sucked on it before she started to nibble and then she bit a little harder and heard the most delicious squeal come from the blonde.

Emma closed her lips around Regina’s top lip in a soothing and extremely light kiss.

Suddenly, a teasing whistle broke through their moment alone and Regina let go of Emma’s lip before she flicked her tongue over the shallow punctures in the princess’ lip caused by her teeth.

Regina turned around to face a laughing man with sandy brown hair.

“Steven,” she addressed the man with playfully narrowed eyes.

“Get a room,” Steven called out from a few trees over.

Regina rolled her eyes, but laced her fingers with Emma’s and gently guided the blonde over to the man.

“I heard about your declaration of love,” Steven grinned at Regina then directed his attention at Emma. “This must be the woman you bought Rita for.”

“She is,” Regina answered. “Emma, this is Steven. He’s the stable hand where I acquired your horse.”

“Oh! Hello,” Emma kindly greeted Steven with a handshake.

“How’s Rita working out for you,” Steven asked.

“ _Very_ well,” Emma confessed with a smirk and a slight blush.

Regina chuckled as she recalled all their horseback riding lessons, especially the ones that involved unnecessary but appreciated touching afterward.

“Good,” Steven nodded and smiled. “I hope you two are staying for the light show.”

“Light show,” Emma asked Regina.

“Yes,” Regina confirmed.

“The light show is the best part about the festival,” Steven started to explain. “It’s how we end it, actually.”

“Is that why people are buying fireworks and sparklers,” Emma asked as she looked between Regina and Steven.

“Yes,” Regina answered. “There are people here who like to participate in the light show, but aren’t gifted with magical abilities so they buy what they can to join in the fun.”

“Regina’s the only one of us who can make light spark out of her hands,” Steven added. “But I’m sure you already know what she can do with her magic.”

“Actually, I’m not the only one anymore,” Regina proudly stated.

Steven furrowed his brow.

“Emma has magic too. Powerful magic,” Regina further explained.

Steven’s eyebrows shot toward his hairline.

“That is fantastic. Will you be helping Regina during the show then?”

“I…barely know what happens at the show,” Emma admitted.

“When you see what goes on after dusk, tell me if you want to use your magic. I’ll help you,” Regina smiled at her. “Mostly it’s just what I showed you to do with creating a reading light except you expel that light into the sky.”

“So, _magical_ fireworks.”

“Exactly,” Regina almost purred.

“That sounds amazing,” Emma said.

“It is,” Steven and Regina conceded.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to…whatever it is you planned to accomplish before I interrupted,” Steven joked. “See you at dinner.”

“See you then,” Regina nodded as Steven walked off toward the beach.

Emma followed Steven with her eyes and got a better look at the beach she could barely make out past the patch of trees ahead of and around them.

“Can we go to the shore,” Emma asked.

“We’ll be there for dinner. Then, after sunset, the light show begins. If you want to look around over there right now we can, but I figured you might like to do a little shopping at those stands we passed by during our stroll.”

“You know me so well,” Emma smiled like a mischievous kid up to no good.

Emma tugged on Regina’s hand and pulled her back to the main road. They walked hand in hand back to the marketplace within the village and slowed down to peer at the items on the stands to decide whether they’d stop to take a closer look and pick something up or move on to the next stand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm proof reading the next chapter right now so it'll be updated later tonight. Let me know what you think of chapter 14 in the meantime. :)


	15. Chapter 15

While they shopped around the marketplace before dinner, Regina bought lunch for her and Emma. They had what was best described as a sampler plate of the meat Adele had started to prepare for the big feast on the beach. Adele was the nineteen year old adopted daughter of Erica, a kindly woman who had watched over little Regina when her father took her to the village to visit. She looked up to Regina and blushed whenever the brunette gave her a compliment.

Though Adele had grown up with Regina as a frequent guest in their village, she still looked awkward as she shifted in place around the older woman. She picked at her worn out clothes that weren’t anywhere near as glamorous or as colorful or vibrant as Emma and Regina’s outfits.

With a flick of the wrist moments before Adele had served them their lunch, Regina switched out Adele’s rag-like wardrobe with beige riding pants and a white peasant top with a hand-stitched floral design across the neckline paired with tan riding boots.

“You look good,” Emma had complimented her once Regina had worked her magic.

Adele blushed then too as if she realized she had more than just Regina to look up to in that moment. She curtsied for the couple even though they insisted there was no need for her to do that. Then, she’d given them their food and let them wander into the house to visit her mother.

Erica welcomed Regina with a hug and almost danced at the sight of the princess on Regina’s arm.

“Well, look at you,” Erica beamed at Regina as she looked over both women. “You look wonderful.”

Emma noticed the distinct Irish accent in the woman’s voice, but didn’t comment on it. It brought a sense of comfort to her for some reason.

Regina introduced Emma and Erica to each other and felt her heart warm as Erica praised Emma before and after giving the blonde a tight hug similar to the one she’d given Regina. Once they all sat down to enjoy a meal together, the three of them, Regina explained her history with Erica to Emma.

“My father trusted her with his life…and mine,” Regina happily said as she sipped at her drink, which Erica had promptly fixed for her and Emma when she ushered them to the dining table. “She played hide and seek with me and ran around with me on her back while my father visited the marketplace.”

“She was so energetic,” Erica chimed in.

Regina laughed.

“Half the time I could barely keep up with her,” she continued. “You were a little troublemaker.”

Emma smiled as she looked from Erica to Regina and she felt herself falling in love with the brunette all over again. Not only did Regina tell her things about when she was younger and about her time spent with her father Henry, but she’d finally shared a part of herself that resided in the village with Emma. She shared her second family with her and Emma couldn’t have been happier to finally make sense of why people seemed to adore Regina here. The brunette had history with the villagers. She had a home here, though she’d never spent more than a day in everyone’s company at a time and never stayed the night.

“Thankfully, your father was good at keeping secrets and sneaking you out of the palace,” Erica said and roused Emma out of her thoughts.

“Indeed,” Regina said, a little somberly at the mention of her late father.

“He was a good man and he loved you more than anything in the world,” Erica said as she reached over and placed her hand over Regina’s on the table.

Regina gave Erica a small smile in return.

“Part of me is glad that my mother was so strict and…abusive…because it gave my father and me time to bond. But…I also wish she hadn’t been because just once I’d like to know that she loved me as much as he did.”

Emma’s eyes widened before she blinked a few times in an attempt to return them to their normal size. She’d never seen Regina open up with anyone but her and yet, there was Erica.

The woman’s hair was gray with several white strands and streaks. She was only about seventeen years older than Regina – who had kept herself looking and feeling, in Emma’s experience, young – and in the short amount of time she’d known the elder woman, she felt as though Erica was more of a mother to Regina than Cora ever was.

Erica leaned over and pulled Regina into a side-hug while Emma instinctively rose from her chair across from the brunette and kissed her cheek before she wrapped her arms around the woman’s side not embraced by Erica.

Regina smiled and let out a breathy burst of laughter.

“Two of my favorite women in all the lands,” Regina commented, “and they’re comforting me on such a happy day.”

“You picked a good one,” Erica said as she looked from Regina to Emma then winked at the blonde with a friendly smile.

“No, a good one picked me,” Regina smiled at Erica then wrapped her arm around Emma’s waist and pulled her into her lap.

“I love you,” Emma whispered in Regina’s ear before she pecked a kiss on the woman’s temple.

Regina looked up at Emma with watery eyes and the most gorgeous and glowing smile the princess had ever seen even though the brunette appeared on the verge of tears.

“I love you too.”

Erica knowingly smirked as she looked at the couple.

“I’m going to make you two a special dessert to share during the light show,” Erica spoke up.

“Oh, don’t do that,” Regina argued. “Really, seeing you is enough. You don’t have to do anything–”

“I insist,” Erica said. “And you know when I insist something I’m going to get my way.”

“Hmm, why does that sound so familiar,” Emma teased as she started to play with Regina’s hair.

Regina playfully swatted Emma’s thigh.

“Thank you, Erica,” Regina said.

“It’s my pleasure, dear,” Erica replied.

Emma smiled and leaned against Regina. If lunch was any indication as to how dinner and the light show was going to be, Regina had done more than enough to make the day special.

* * *

Just as shades of orange and pink tinted the sky, people started to head down to the shore. Several villagers howled and clanged wooden spoons against their pots as they carried their contributions for dinner down to the gathering in the sand.

The air had started to chill as the sun began its descent behind the horizon and a few men who’d returned from hunting just in time to help with meal preparations lugged a few pieces of wood that they dumped into one big pile in the center of where everyone found solace in the sand for the night.

Emma and Regina had been part of the stragglers that took their time to join the others, along with Erica and Adele who walked with them, while Regina pointed out how everyone worked well together and how, because of that, everything she watched as people migrated toward the shoreline became part of the festival tradition.

Once everyone had filtered in, Regina grinned and guided Emma with her to the pile of wood.

“What are you doing,” Emma asked as she laughed a little at Regina’s devious expression that made her appear like a child who’d just peed in the azaleas and only they knew about it.

“Light my fire,” Regina seductively said as her eyes darkened.

Emma’s breath hitched and for a moment, she thought she felt her heart stop or at least skip a beat.

Regina laughed when she saw Emma’s reaction.

“Help me light the fire,” Regina amended and gave Emma a chance to calm down from the implications of what she’d previously said.

Emma took a deep breath and sighed with relief. Regina snickered and affectionately rubbed Emma’s arm in response.

“Okay. Light a fire,” Emma said as she looked at the wood pile in front of them.

“Follow my lead,” Regina smiled as she took Emma’s hand in hers and started to coax the blonde’s magic to the surface.

A fireball appeared in Regina’s free hand and she looked at Emma while she waited for the princess to figure out where to direct her magic and how.

“Feel heat, think fireball?”

Regina chuckled.

“That’s the general concept of what you need to do, yes.”

Emma took another deep breath and closed her eyes. Her brows knit together as she tried to focus a little too intently and Regina stifled any further laughter as she settled for a grin then ran her fingertips up and down Emma’s bare arm.

Regina produced a few sparks with her magic and sent little shockwaves through Emma wherever she touched.

Emma gasped and quietly whimpered.

Regina licked her lips when she looked at Emma’s chest and noticed her nipples start to strain against the fabric of her dress.

Seconds later, a fireball appeared in Emma’s hand as she held it at her side with her palm up just as Regina had.

Emma’s eyes popped open and she immediately stared down at the fireball she’d conjured while Regina pulled her hand away from Emma’s arm and the sparks disappeared.

“I did it,” Emma said as she looked from the fireball to Regina. “You cheated.”

“I _encouraged_ ,” Regina corrected.

Emma rolled her eyes, but smiled as she did.

“Now, on the count of three, flick your wrist toward the wood and watch it burn,” Regina grinned more like her Evil Queen self.

Emma chuckled under her breath as she turned her attention to the unlit wood.

“One,” Regina started. “Two. Three.”

Simultaneously, Emma and Regina flicked their fireball wielding wrists and in an instant, the wood ignited with strong flames.

Everyone around them clapped and cheered.

Emma slowly turned around with Regina to face the villagers and smiled at the appreciation she received alongside the brunette.

“Let’s eat,” Richard shouted to the group.

“Yeah,” everyone responded as some went to grab their food and others started to dish out the meals they’d cooked earlier in the day.

Regina took Emma around to every makeshift food station and ensured she tried one of everything, much to the delight of those that made the food. When they both had as many plates and bowls as they could carry, Regina walked them over to a vacant portion of sand close to the fire. She perched a few of her bowls on top of Emma’s for a moment as she used her then freed hand to conjure large blankets for everyone to seek comfort on for the remainder of the evening spent by the water.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” a few people called out from their various places around the fire.

“Does no one here think to bring their blankets with them out here for the festival,” Emma asked.

“None of them have a free hand to bring the blankets out with them and everyone focuses their time and energy on the food so no one bothers to set up blankets beforehand. But I’m here every year and every year I conjure blankets.”

“How nice of you,” Emma said just as Erica and Adele settled down on the blanket laid out beside Emma and Regina’s.

“Sit down, will you,” Regina ordered with a hint of laughter in her voice.

Emma made herself comfortable on their blanket and smiled over at Erica and Adele while Regina brushed off her dress and sat down beside the blonde.

Regina took her food from Emma and spread it out in front of her before she started to scarf it down like a normal person and not a Queen.

“You can really put it away, can’t you,” Emma rhetorically asked.

“Oh, hush. It’s good food. Eat it and find out for yourself,” Regina said before she shoved a spoonful of her food into the younger woman’s mouth.

Emma let out a cross between a moan and a hum as the spoon was jammed into her mouth before she could process what exactly she had been fed. When she was able to taste the food and not pay so much attention to the unexpected intrusion into her mouth, she licked her lips and swallowed with a hint of a smile.

“You’re right,” Emma started. “It is good.”

“Hmm,” Regina purred then curled up against Emma’s side before she stopped Emma from bringing her own spoon to her mouth.

Regina took the spoon out of Emma’s hand and held it out a few inches from her closed mouth.

Emma looked from the spoonful of food in Regina’s hand to the woman’s shining brown eyes. After a couple of seconds, she opened her mouth and allowed Regina to feed her.

“When we were here the other day, you didn’t even want me to kiss you in front of the others. What’s changed,” Emma asked before Regina fed her another spoonful.

“Everyone here knows about us now and this is the one place and the one day I feel I can be myself, not the Queen.”

“And yet, they still call you by your title.”

“Yes, that is something I don’t require from them, but they do like to tease me with it or use it to show respect. Though I’ve known some of these people for years, I still have an image to uphold at times. Plus, I’m willing to sully my name and my title to be able to do things like this with you simply because I want to.”

They smiled at each other for a moment before Regina fed Emma yet another bite of food. Then, Emma took the spoon from Regina’s hand and dipped it into one of Regina’s bowls. She lifted the spoon to Regina’s mouth and waited until the woman opened it before she started to feed the brunette.

“Then sully it we shall,” Emma smirked as she pulled the spoon out of Regina’s mouth and watched the woman swallow.

* * *

There was a reprieve between dinner and the light show. Many of the villagers, though they were all swarmed around the large bonfire, went back to their houses to retrieve more blankets and wrapped themselves up as they allowed their stomachs to digest their big meal before setting off any fireworks or waving around sparklers.

Emma took charge then and conjured her and Regina a second blanket that she then draped over them and snuggled into Regina as they laid together and listened to the waves and the crackling of the fire.

The crowd of villagers kept to themselves during that time, but all of them had noticed Emma securely wrapped in Regina’s arms as they were tightly encased in their second blanket. When people passed by them, they smiled as they took notice of the pair.

Off in their own little world, Regina leaned in several times for a few quick and tender kisses that soon led to a fit of quiet giggles between the two of them and even more kisses both chaste and those that were a little more passionate. After the first few tender kisses Regina had initiated just before the giggles erupted, she rolled on top of Emma before she went any further.

Emma tried to keep her breathing as even as possible and fought to withhold any moans and whimpers. A few strangled sounds came out of her despite her best efforts and her cheeks flared as a rosy hue bloomed across their expanse.

“I could make love to you right here,” Regina quietly said so only Emma heard.

“I wish you would, but I also wish you wouldn’t. Not only are there a lot of other people around, but there are children.”

Regina throatily chuckled.

“Yes, which is why I’m conflicted. I don’t think you have any idea how much I want to say to hell with everyone else, you and I are here and the timing is right and I can’t contain myself much longer. But I want to be respectful to you and to everyone else around us, which means I’ll continue to wait until we get home to the palace.”

Emma smiled and picked her head up to kiss Regina who remained above her, the two of them thoroughly tangled up in the extra blanket she conjured for them.

Regina smiled into the kiss and ran a hand through stray tresses of blonde hair.

A throat cleared above them and Regina broke the kiss as she tilted her head back to acknowledge whoever had interrupted them.

“I brought you your dessert,” Erica grinned at Regina as she held out a pan of what looked to be either a cake or a pie.

Regina reached up and took the pan from Erica.

“Thank you,” she said before Emma echoed her sentiments from her position beneath the Queen.

“Nothing breaks up a love fest like one of my pies,” Erica said. “You have Adele blushing and trying and failing not to stare at you two while you go at it in front of the entire village.”

Emma smirked.

“You remind me my of my godmother’s grandmother,” the blonde said to Erica.

Regina cocked her head to the side and looked Erica over as she considered the possibility.

“Red’s grandmother,” Regina asked before she looked down at Emma and saw Emma nod in response. “I think I agree with you.”

“Then Red’s grandmother must be a hell of a woman,” Erica replied before she winked at them.

 With that, Erica went back to her blanket and sat with Adele who finally managed to tear her eyes away from Emma and Regina.

Regina rolled off of Emma and made sure to be careful with the pie in her hand as she did.

Both women sat up and Regina picked up one of the two forks included in the pan stuck between the edge of the pan and the pie. They each enjoyed a few bites before someone announced the start of the light show.

There were a few cheers that followed after the announcement and a few anxious children started to launch fireworks with their parents’ supervision.

“You know, I _still_ don’t know what this festival is for,” Emma asked before she took another bite of the pie.

“It’s a celebration of life. Everyone here believes in taking the time to revel in the strength they have gained from what they have been through. They want a chance to think positively about something, to celebrate something, because things could be worse. There is war and famine and unjust leaders and they are thankful to have the things they have, to not be killed in battle, and most importantly, to have each other.”

“A celebration of life,” Emma repeated the words as she looked around at all the happy faces.

“And the life they all have with each other,” Regina added with a smile as she leaned in and pressed a kiss to Emma’s cheek.

Emma turned her head and smiled back before she leaned in and captured Regina’s lips with hers.

“Then let’s celebrate,” Emma said as she placed the fork back in the pan with the pie and abandoned the dish as she stood and held out her hand for Regina to join her.

Regina took Emma’s hand and the blonde pulled her onto her feet.

“Show me what you do at these light shows every year,” Emma said as she pulled Regina closer to her while they stood on the blanket they were laying on.

As soon as people started to notice Regina Mills on her feet as the fire made her figure glow orange, projected by the flickering flames, all eyes were on her and Emma. There were a few whispered conversations between certain groups as they waited to see what Regina would do and they didn’t have to wait long to see what she was going to offer them for the show that year.

Pink sparks danced on Regina’s fingertips as she momentarily held it loosely at her side. She slowly brought it up to eye level beside her head so Emma could see it and when she did, the princess stared at it with awe.

“For you,” Regina said before she lowered her hand then suddenly threw it up toward the sky and shot out pink sparks like lightning bolts that melted together during their ascent toward the stars.

The magic started to form a shape in the sky until the picture Regina wanted to create came together as a bright pink light that made up a glowing symbol of a heart.

“Oohs” and “ahs” fell from amazed villagers’ lips as they stared up at the pink heart that alternated between glowing to the rhythm of an actual heartbeat.

Regina gently gripped Emma’s wrist and brought the blonde’s hand up to her chest.

Beneath heated skin, Emma felt the thumping of Regina’s heart where the other woman held her hand. She looked back up at the magically created heart in the sky and noticed the heart glowed in time with Regina’s heartbeat.

“It’s beautiful,” Emma breathed out as she admired Regina’s work.

When Emma looked at Regina, her eyes were slightly wide and she looked a little flushed.

“Forget the carriage,” Emma said before red sparks flew from the hand not on Regina’s chest.

Those that saw the magic Emma possessed gasped around them, but Emma and Regina kept their eyes locked on each other.

Emma mimicked Regina’s hand gesture and threw the red sparks into the air. When the sparks surged together, they didn’t gracefully coagulate together like Regina’s had. Instead, the sparks skittered together like grinding gears until they exploded into a red heart beside Regina’s.

The brunette only had a moment to smile at Emma’s red heart that impressively beat to the rhythm of the princess’ heart, though Regina didn’t know that for sure until after what Emma did next.

“Take me to our chambers,” Emma breathed against Regina’s mouth before she pressed their lips together.

The second their lips met, Emma fell into Regina and the brunette latched on to Emma’s neck before purple smoke engulfed them.

The smoke quickly dissipated as Emma pushed Regina back toward their bed and kissed the woman like she was a tall glass of water in a year long drought. The princess desperately grabbed at every part of Regina’s clothes and curves as she felt out the woman’s body on their way across the room. It took a matter of seconds before they tumbled over the foot of the bed and Emma unceremoniously fell on top of the brunette.

Their teeth gnashed on their way down to the bed and though they smiled and let out short-lived giggles between and during their next few kisses, neither one of them broke apart.

“Emma,” Regina let out a breathy moan as the blonde’s mouth focused on her neck.

Regina allowed her to take charge until she was sure the princess had left a few marks on and around her pulse point. Her hands had wandered down Emma’s sides then traveled back up to feel the contours of Emma’s breasts without cupping or squeezing them in their entirety. When she felt Emma shift above her, she rolled them over so the princess was on her back.

Air quickly left Emma’s lungs as Regina hovered over her and settled her hips between the younger woman’s thighs.

Regina slowly leaned down for a kiss, but she pulled back before their eager lips could meet. She locked eyes with Emma and looked over every last inch of the princess’ face.

“Regina?”

“I just want to look at you for a moment,” Regina replied as her eyes traveled from green eyes over the bridge of Emma’s nose, across high cheekbones, down to naturally pink lips and a slightly dimpled chin.

When Regina’s eyes met Emma’s again, the air in the room thicken with the intensity of the moment. Everything felt heavier around them as they were suddenly overcome by the magnetic pull neither had truly felt in the past few days. Just then, however, it returned with full force as Emma arched up to meet Regina while the Queen gravitated down toward the princess.

Like the waves on the shore in the village, their lips crashed into each other and the tide between them instantly changed. Emma placed a hand on the back of Regina’s neck and trapped brunette hair between her fingers as she held the other woman as close as possible during their kiss. Regna slid a hand up toward the headboard as she moved it along the space beside Emma’s body without touching the blonde.

Regina rolled her hips forward as she slid further between Emma’s legs and all but pressed herself against the princess’ center had it not been for the lovely yet hindering dress she’d lent Emma for the day.

The hem of the dress thankfully didn’t puff around them and made it easy for Regina to take a guess as to how Emma felt beneath it, but it wasn’t as satisfying a touch as it would be without the obstruction. She tried not to growl or make it known that she wanted the material out of the way and instead directed her attention to Emma’s neck and chest.

Emma bit her bottom lip and whimpered as she arched her chest toward Regina’s hot mouth while it descended toward dress-covered nipples. She squirmed beneath the brunette as she gently clapped a hand over the other woman’s shoulder. She held it there and felt Regina move up and down as the Queen kissed every inch of already exposed skin above the neckline of her dress.

Though they might have engaged in similar foreplay before, everything about the moment and the events that led up to it that night were different and more strongly charged. As they accepted and acted upon how things were going to be from then on, both women slowly started to feel that it was always meant to end up this way. Any misstep they took or any bad day they had had all led to them meeting and everything that had followed.

Emma curled her fingers against Regina’s shoulder and lightly clawed at the brunette’s sleeve until she accidentally slid it off her shoulder, down her arm.

Regina pulled away from Emma’s chest just a bit as she quietly gasped at the blonde’s actions whether they were intentional or not. She looked up to meet green eyes and her lips curved into the most natural, adoring, and loving smile she’d ever given anyone.

“You’re sure you want to do this? Now,” Regina asked.

“Regina, if I think back over my life, including my childhood, there’s only one constant. You. I’ve never been surer about anything. If you’re ready to give me all of you, I’m ready to be yours…completely.”

Just as it had during one of the last times she’d watched the sunset with her princess, Regina’s heart warmed and she felt it beat like it hadn’t in a long time.

“Princess Emma of the White kingdom, I give myself to you without question. I pledge my loyalty and my heart to you and only you.”

Emma smiled as her eyes shined with the love shared between them.

“My mother always told me love is weakness, but I don’t feel that with you. I feel strength; strength to resist the darkness within me and be better, strength to finally let someone in after all these years whether I wanted to at first or not.”

Emma chuckled and ran her fingertips over Regina’s smooth and recently made bare shoulder. Her eyes drifted from sienna coals to the indistinct patterns she traced on Regina’s shoulder. When her eyes flicked back up to look into Regina’s, she noticed how much darker they’d become in a matter of seconds.

“Show me how much you love me,” Emma quietly said as she continued to move her fingertips across Regina’s shoulder then down toward her collarbone with a feather-light, wispy touch that almost created goose bumps on olive skin if Regina’s slight shudder was any indication.

Regina slowly moved in and brought her lips closer to Emma’s with a deliberate sense of anticipation. Their eyes remained glued to each other as she eliminated the space between them and affectionately, delicately kissed the princess. She moved at a snail’s pace as she allowed all the emotion she felt to bleed into the kiss.

Emma slid her middle finger underneath Regina’s other sleeve and gently pushed it down her arm to match her other bare shoulder. After she freed the brunette’s shoulders from confinement, Regina pressed their lips together a little harder as she moved closer to her. She moaned as she felt Regina rest more of her weight on her and almost push them both uncomfortably close to the headboard. She sucked in a lungful of air before their next kiss as Regina’s body molded itself into the full length of her front.

Regina’s stomach melted into Emma’s as their chests heaved and brushed together through the tight hold of their outfits while she kissed Emma with a little more want and need without demanding any more than Emma was willing to indulge. Her hand then slowly started to slide down the blonde’s body from her neck, over her breasts, and down to her hip. Regina gave Emma’s hip a light squeeze before she moved her hand back up to one of Emma’s breasts and drew a teasing circle around a hidden nipple.

Emma moaned with obvious desire as she curved her body toward Regina for a stronger touch.

“ _Now_ who is being the tease,” Emma breathlessly said with a small smirk and a devious glint in her eyes that usually only Regina possessed.

Regina held back a laugh as she grinned at the younger woman.

“A taste of your own medicine will be good for you. It will help you understand how I have felt since our time on that blanket near the stables.”

Emma quietly giggled before Regina leaned down and absorbed the sound in a chaste kiss. When their lips separated and the brunette pulled away only enough to look back into her green eyes, she smiled up at Regina and memorized the softness of her features and the happiness in her expression.

“I love you,” Emma said after a moment.

“I love you too,” Regina smiled back at her.

Both women stayed in the moment of their professed love before they leaned in to each other and kissed again and again.

Emma reached around and picked at the laces of Regina’s dress to rid the woman of it. Her fingers fumbled several times along the way, though she did managed to untie half of the laces. The rest were whipped apart with an alluring flick of Regina’s wrist.

Emma broke away from the kiss to look into the brunette’s eyes for permission to continue. When Regina nodded with a smile on her beautiful face, Emma’s hands returned to the woman’s dress as she went in for another kiss. She pulled the dress down and toward herself to reveal Regina’s breasts and stomach, but she didn’t get a look at the familiar skin and perky assets as she remained in a battle of tongues with the Queen.

Regina moaned into the kiss as cool air passed her unprotected chest. The muscles in her abdomen rippled as she tensed then released them while she adjusted to the shift in temperature. As she laid herself more firmly against Emma’s dress, she groaned as her already hardened nipples grazed over the raised material and gems of the design on the dress she’d insisted Emma wore for their day out together.

When Regina attempted to connect their lips again after her moan, Emma pulled her head back in refusal. Before Regina could frown and look down at the blonde with concern and confusion, Emma stared between them to see the cause of Regina’s delightful vocal reactions.

Emma grinned when she saw stiff peaks then looked up into Regina’s eyes. Her grin spread further across her face until she looked thoroughly pleased with the outcome of their barely beginning night together.

Regina grinned back but with more lust and devilishness before she claimed Emma’s lips with hers once again.

Emma lifted her back off the bed and reached behind herself to pull at the laces of her borrowed dress as she reveled in the deep, ongoing kisses.

Regina caught on to Emma’s intention within seconds as she felt Emma jerk beneath her a few times in the younger woman’s attempt to remove her dress by herself. She licked her lips as she pulled away from Emma’s mouth and watched the blonde continue to struggle with her laces.

“I was…going for sexy, but it seems I’m just clumsy. Help me with this,” Emma asked.

Regina chuckled.

“I love you for your clumsiness, but I’ll have you know I find your failed fiddling with those laces to be very attractive.”

“Really?”

Regina nodded as she gently guided Emma to sit up then reached around to tug at the laces.

“Yes, my love. It’s a trait I have only ever seen _you_ possess and that is what makes it so special and attractive. It’s unique to you and I love _you_ , not anyone else or even just the _idea_ of you. You. All of you.”

“Who knew the Queen who is known to be ‘evil’ and is feared by most is such a romantic,” Emma teased. “Oh, that’s right. I do. Always have.”

“Needless to say, you are the only one who knows and the reason for that is because it has always been for you.”

Emma hummed and opened her mouth to say something when she felt the final tug of laces before the tighter part of her dress slackened.

Regina locked eyes with Emma as she held the dress around the princess to keep her covered until it was expressed that the dress could be moved.

Emma pursed her lips together in a small but bright smile before she placed her hands on Regina’s wrists and started to lay back. She guided Regina’s hands around her body and toward the brunette while Regina continued to hold the dress in her hands.

Regina’s breathing picked up as she almost started to pant with the realization that Emma was helping her peel the dress away from the blonde’s physique.

The two of them pulled the dress away from Emma’s body down to her hips before Emma let go of Regina’s wrists and stayed still on her back as she watched for the brunette’s reaction.

Regina released her grip on the dress, their upper bodies on display while their dresses remained bunched at their hips. She leaned down and gave Emma a kiss on the lips before she made a trail down the woman’s neck, chest, and taut stomach with her mouth. Just as she reached Emma’s navel, she looked up through hooded lashes to at least catch the blonde’s expression if not her eyes.

Emma’s breathing became ragged and erratic the further down Regina’s lips traveled. By the time the woman hesitated at her navel, she gasped and writhed beneath her. Then, as the tip of Regina’s tongue briefly swiped from right to left just above her navel like a quick and shallow brush stroke, Emma lifted her head and found Regina’s eyes in an instant.

“Keep going,” Emma breathed out no louder than a pleaded whisper.

Regina dipped her head and kissed the same spot she previously licked before she expertly and unexpectedly delved her tongue inside the woman’s navel and caused Emma to let out the highest pitched whimper Regina had ever heard from the princess.

Emma gasped as Regina plunged her tongue in and out of her navel a few times. She arched her body up toward Regina’s mouth as she wiggled her hips around once or twice to deal with the build up she started to feel thrum between her legs.

Regina slithered back up Emma’s body and directed her attention on pink and erect nipples. She wrapped her plump lips around one and sucked it into her mouth like she’d done a few times in the past. She flicked her tongue over it back and forth several times until she moistened the bud enough to cause subtle popping sounds every time she sucked then released the nipple before each she time she repeated the action.

Emma blew out heavy breaths with the increased pleasure she felt throughout her entire body.

One of Regina’s hands occupied Emma’s untouched breast and lightly brushed a fingertip over her other nipple. When Emma emitted a drawn out moan, she slowly started to rock her hips, which grinded into Emma’s center in her position between the younger woman’s legs.

Emma moaned again as her legs instinctively closed in a bit around Regina’s hips.

“Regina,” the princess whimpered as she licked her lips.

Regina moaned against Emma’s breast as she opened her mouth around it to release the nipple that had been trapped under her tongue. She slid up Emma’s body a little more until she attached her lips to the blonde’s pulse point and sped up the movement of her hips as she rolled them into Emma.

Little sounds of pleasure tumbled out of the princess’ mouth as she grabbed a fistful of bed sheets to keep herself steady against the physical bliss brought on by Regina’s skilled movements. She clenched and unclenched her fist around the sheets a few times before she realized it wasn’t enough then placed both hands on Regina’s hips and let them follow the brunette’s rhythm.

Regina’s lips left Emma’s neck to find the blonde’s mouth. Her tongue melted against and wrestled with Emma’s as they both carelessly fought for dominance, though neither cared who really ruled the kiss.

Emma moved one hand from Regina’s hip and slid it down between the bunched up dress and the woman’s heated skin. As her hand cupped Regina’s sex overtop of the woman’s undergarment, the Queen moaned into their next kiss.

Regina fervently kissed Emma then as she pushed down her dress to expose just what it was Emma was doing with her hand.

When Regina’s dress reached her knees, she broke the kiss and started to maneuver her way out of the dress completely until Emma’s hands took over and stripped her of the sudden nuisance along with the added hindrance of her panties. She smirked at the blonde’s seeming eagerness to make all of her clothes disappear before she went in to leave marks on Emma’s neck.

Seconds later, Emma whimpered as Regina sucked at her pulse point harder than usual while she slid her hand into the woman’s panties.

Regina sucked even harder when she felt Emma’s fingers brush against her clit before they slid down toward her entrance and back again toward her clit.

Emma let out a little more than a whimper as she cried out at the pleasurable pain inflicted by Regina’s greedy mouth as the brunette had yet to release her bruised skin.

Once the sound reached her ears, Regina relinquished Emma’s pulse point from her torturous hold on it. She looked at Emma with worry in her eyes, but the blonde answered her unasked question before she could even open her mouth to voice it.

Emma circled over Regina’s clit with a firm touch of a single fingertip that had Regina’s hips buck toward her.

“I’m okay,” Emma assured her.

Regina smiled and pushed her clit down onto Emma’s finger to feel even more of the younger woman against her hardening and soon to be overly sensitive bundle of nerves. She moaned her pleasure and threw her head back as she moved with the princess. After a few harder touches against her clit, she locked eyes with Emma and started to run a hand down from the valley between the other woman’s breasts to her pelvic bone. She stopped there, but didn’t lift her fingers from fair, heated skin.

Emma kept her eyes on Regina as the woman continued to rock against her hand while silently asking her whether or not to proceed with her tempting fingers. Her breathing quickened with the new position of Regina’s hand and she took several seconds to hold her composure before she managed to nod in reply to the unvoiced question.

Regina slowed her hips until she stopped then carefully started to pull down the rest of Emma’s dress. When she saw the waistband of Emma’s underwear, she hooked her fingers into the sides and brought it along with the dress. She looked up from the dress to Emma’s eyes and waited for a reason to stop.

Emma kept quiet as she lifted herself off the bed long enough for Regina to bring her dress and panties down to her knees.

Regina stopped then as her eyes landed on the skin she’d exposed. Her tongue darted over her bottom lip before she tucked that lip between her teeth, her eyes locked in place on an entirely uncovered Emma.

“This will probably be much more enjoyable without the dress on me at all,” Emma teased with rosy cheeks and a nervous smile.

Regina’s eyes flicked up to focus on Emma’s gaze and noted the telltale signs of embarrassment.

“You. Are. _Breathtaking_ ,” Regina slowly and truthfully said.

“Then you wouldn’t mind discarding the dress,” Emma half asked and half stated as she maintained eye contact with the queen.

Regina smiled.

“Not at all,” she responded with a voice like honey before she pulled the dress and Emma’s panties the rest of the way off of the woman.

The clothes were flung somewhere neither woman cared to know at the time before Regina leaned in again and kissed Emma before she assumed her previous position straddling the blonde’s hips.

Emma pressed the pads of her fingers against Regina’s pelvic bone before she slipped them down to the woman’s clit once more.

Regina rolled her hips as her clit hardened beneath the princess’ fingers while she placed her hand back on Emma just below her abdomen.

Emma’s ministrations halted when her breath hitched as Regina’s fingertips slowly, deliberately, slid down toward her slickening folds. Suddenly, she felt her queen change directions and those fingertips were pressed to one of her thighs as they teased up and down her soft skin.

Regina lifted her hips and shifted away from Emma’s touch as she repositioned herself to straddle Emma’s untouched thigh. She added the pressure of her palm to the fingertips she ran along the blonde’s thigh as she moved her hand toward the apex of the woman’s legs a third time. Her eyes never left Emma’s face as she gauged the younger woman’s reactions before she furthered her actions.

Emma’s eyes rolled back in her head and she stared up at the ceiling as she sucked in a deep breath at the teasing touch.

“Are you alright _now_ , my love,” Regina calmly asked with a low and soothing voice.

Emma licked her lips and panted out her next few breaths before she nodded against the bed.

“Then tell me. Don’t just nod,” Regina said as she stilled her hand at the top of Emma’s thigh.

Emma slowly propped herself up on her elbows and met Regina’s eyes.

“I’m fine. It tickles a little, though,” she confessed.

Regina brightly smiled.

“Is that good that it feels that way,” Regina asked her.

Emma gulped as she thought about it then nodded.

“Yes,” she replied. “I just don’t want to laugh the entire time.”

“I’m sure you won’t laugh the _entire_ time, but if you feel so inclined to giggle I don’t mind,” Regina said as her smile morphed into a grin. “Shall I continue?”

Emma smirked back at her.

“Yes, please,” Emma responded with a rich and suggestive tone.

Regina leaned over and lightly met Emma’s lips with her own as she moved her hand from the top of the blonde’s thigh to her inner thigh.

Emma broke the kiss with a gasp and a quiet, short-lived chuckle. She bit her lip when Regina’s gaze locked on hers.

Regina leaned in again and rested her forehead against Emma’s.

“If I do something you don’t like or if at any time you become uncomfortable, speak up, alright?”

Regina rubbed circles into Emma’s inner thigh with her thumb for a few seconds.

“Okay,” Emma answered.

Regina made a couple more circles on the woman’s thigh before she removed her hand from it completely and before the blonde could complain about the loss, she gently stroked her fingers through soaked folds.

Emma instinctively clenched as a result of the contact, but relaxed as she looked into Regina’s loving eyes even as they took on a darker, but somewhat softer look.

Regina gently pressed two fingertips to Emma’s clit and the princess laid back on the bed once again so she was flat against it. Regina followed her down and brushed their lips as the blonde let out a soft sound that wasn’t quite a whimper, but wasn’t as strong as a moan. She waited a second or two before she kissed thin, naturally pink lips to allow the younger woman a vocal reaction to the sensation of another person touching her where only she had touched herself prior to that moment.

Emma reached down and cupped the side of Regina’s left thigh and a few seconds later she brought the inside of her left ankle up to Regina’s backside, one leg wrapped around her while she anchored herself with a firm grip on Regina’s thigh. She tugged the woman toward herself and Regina took the hint.

The Queen leaned in and moved closer to the princess as their lower halves seemed to fuse together. Regina moaned and closed her eyes as she slid her center against Emma’s thigh while she brought their faces within a breath from each other.

Emma licked her lips and swallowed thickly, her throat suddenly dry, as she felt Regina’s wetness coat her thigh.

Regina started to grind on Emma’s thigh at a sensual pace as she let her fingers slip toward Emma’s entrance. She hesitated, two fingers ready to delve inside, and looked at the wide-eyed blonde beneath her.

“Do it,” Emma huskily said as though she had lost her voice and without a single ounce of demand behind her tone.

Regina dipped her middle finger in first as she kept her index finger poised just above Emma’s entrance where she’d hesitated.

Emma sighed and her breath blew at loose, wispy strands of Regina’s hair as it also hit part of the woman’s lips and cheek.

Regina pulled her finger almost completely out of the blonde before she carefully slipped it back in at half the speed of her own rocking against the woman’s thigh. She kept that rhythm for a few more thrusts before she matched it to the rhythm she had set with her hips.

Emma moaned and squirmed as she tried to meet Regina gentle thrust for gentle thrust.

Regina carefully added a second finger.

Emma whimpered and Regina’s eyes closed as she rolled her hips against Emma’s thigh a little faster before she matched it with her fingers yet again.

“Regina,” Emma breathed out.

The brunette forced her eyes open as she looked straight into Emma’s eyes.

“I love you so much,” Regina blurted out before she covered Emma’s lips with hers.

Emma moaned into the kiss as Regina’s thumb swiped over her clit. She raked her nails up Regina’s back and side before she clawed at one of the brunette’s bare shoulders and roughly gripped at Regina’s ass with her other hand.

Regina pressed herself as flush as she could against Emma then applied more pressure to Emma’s clit as she tried to thrust her fingers deeper inside her.

Emma broke their kiss with a turn of her head as she gasped and panted even more.

Regina peppered the blonde’s cheek, jaw, and neck with kisses as she tried to keep things as slow and careful as possible unless asked to do otherwise.

Emma moaned and whimpered with every thrust as she grabbed Regina everywhere her hands could settle, even if she moved them elsewhere seconds later. She wrapped her arm around Regina’s lower back with one hand as the other glided up and down the rest of the brunette’s back several times before she tangled a hand in Regina’s long, brunette hair.

Emma held Regina all too close to her for the other woman to move freely and caused the queen to fumble around with her hand and the thigh between the princess’ legs, but she quickly recovered and the princess certainly didn’t seem to take issue with the somewhat clumsy movements. The younger woman only continued to pant and moan and whimper as her walls clenched then unclenched around Regina’s fingers.

The moment passed too quickly for either woman to stop and Emma hadn’t felt any real relief from it so she wrapped her free leg around Regina’s waist and dug her heel into the woman’s ass.

“Regina,” Emma panted again as she squeezed her eyes shut and used the leverage of her leg around Regina’s waist to push her into Regina’s hand with a little extra force.

Regina whimpered as she curled her fingers and found a ribbed patch of skin that elicited an almost squeaked out sound of pleasure to fall from Emma’s parted lips.

Emma’s leg twitched against Regina’s back and hugged her tighter just as the blonde’s walls did the same around Regina’s fingers.

Regina opened her eyes just in time to watch Emma throw her head back and tense in her grasp, every muscle strained as she shouted out the Queen’s name.

“Regina!”

Regina moaned and squeezed her thighs around Emma’s thigh before she stopped rocking against it. She slowly slipped in and out of Emma a few more times as the blonde went limp and when Emma took her time to open her eyes, she removed her fingers once and for all.

“Still okay,” Regina asked as she brushed slightly damp hair out of Emma’s face.

Emma looked up at Regina with shining eyes filled with love and wonder and awe. She smiled as her eyes started to water.

“I love you too,” she quietly said.

Regina’s heart felt ready to burst inside her chest. It had never felt so full. Not since Daniel at least. But, as she looked down at her teary-eyed Emma, she felt whole. She felt the missing piece of her heart, the hole that was made in it the day she lost Daniel and assumed the role of trophy wife, Queen, and step-mother, click into place. It was Emma.

Sunsets watched alone from her cold and dark palace, feeling the weight of something missing that she couldn’t quite place. A mystery solved as her heart beat for the woman in her bed.

“The thing I was missing,” Emma started to say and snapped Regina out of her thoughts, revelations, and memories. “When I felt like something was wrong any time I was forced to court some prince or be somewhere I wished not to be. I was missing you, Regina.”

Regina smiled at Emma with so much love in her eyes then. She leaned in and passionately kissed Emma in a way that communicated her tender feelings as well as the desire the woman sated by letting her in and the desire still unsatisfied from the lack of her own sexual release. Mid-kiss, Regina slid an arm under Emma and wrapped it around the blonde’s waist before she rolled onto her back and pulled the princess on top of her.

“I will always be yours to have, now and forever,” Regina said as she held Emma on top of her.

“Save that for our wedding,” Emma beamed as she wiped away tears she prevented from falling.

Regina rolled her eyes with a smile. She looked at Emma for a few seconds as she held her smile in place then playfully smacked the blonde’s ass.

Emma squealed as she lurched forward, which created friction between their centers as they rubbed against each other.

Regina emitted a strangled moan as she squeezed Emma’s hip, her arm still wrapped around the other woman.

When Emma locked eyes with Regina, she sheepishly smiled and bit her bottom lip.

“Make love to me,” Regina said with a great amount of need laced in her sultry voice.

“Now and forever,” Emma said as she slowly brought her lips to Regina’s. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know when the next chapter will be finished, but I hope to be able to update faster for the time being. If you want to check in with me about the upcoming chapters just because you're curious or it's been a while since I've posted anything new for the story, you can PM me, follow and send me asks on Tumblr (sultrysweet), and/or follow me on Twitter and ask me there (@sultrysweetSQ).


	16. Chapter 16

Regina clenched and unclenched her fists around her tangled bed sheets as she arched her back and gasped before she writhed beneath Emma’s touch. She started to pant when the blonde’s mouth traveled the expanse of her bare body from her neck to her waist with an expertise that the Queen hadn’t realized Emma possessed.

“Emma,” she breathed out.

Emma moaned against Regina’s pelvis and immediately felt the brunette shift beneath her before she heard the wanton whimper that followed.

“Emma,” she repeated louder.

Regina let go of the sheets and threaded her fingers in golden curls. She brushed her fingertips against the princess’ ears and the side of her face before she got the younger woman’s attention.

Emma abandoned smooth, olive skin and looked into dark, chocolate eyes with a hint of worry in her own green eyes. She slowed her circles over Regina’s clit almost to a stop as she hovered above the Queen’s lower body.

“Did I–”

“No,” Regina quickly put a rest to any fear Emma may have had. “I just want you up here.”

Emma peered up at Regina with a curious expression, but after a short moment she slid up her body.

Regina smiled up at the princess and pushed her slightly messy tresses back.

“My beautiful princess,” she said with so much love.

“My magnificent queen,” Emma replied with a loving voice and smile of her own.

“Though some may find it odd for me to have fallen in love with a young girl I nearly watched grow up, I believe that maybe this is right. I thought my happy ending would be with Daniel.”

Regina looked over at the bedside table she’d set her necklace on before Emma had started to touch her again after their first round. Emma followed her gaze and flashed the brunette a sympathetic smile.

“But…when I look back…I realize I always knew you meant something. You almost walked right through my mirror,” Regina’s smile brightened.

Emma chuckled.

“You might not have walked through the mirror, but you certainly walked your way into my heart.”

“When you fall for younger women, you fall for _much_ younger, don’t you,” Emma joked.

Regina gasped for vastly different reasons than she had earlier and swatted Emma’s arm before she and the princess laughed together.

“I am not interested in young _girls_ ,” Regina started to explain as the laughter settled between them. “I am interested in _you_. You are no longer a girl and I never thought of you romantically until your masquerade ball.”

“And what did you think of me before then?”

“Adorable, full of light…the daughter of my enemy.”

Emma shot her an unamused look.

“And I suppose I already cared for you then,” Regina added. “If I thought I had wanted to kill you to get back at your mother, I quickly found that I didn’t want _anyone_ to harm you. Not even myself.”

Emma smiled again then leaned in and kissed Regina.

Regina melted beneath her as she gently gripped Emma’s biceps to hold the blonde close.

They languidly kissed again and again, but took their time parting from the kiss moments later before desire completely overtook them.

“I love you,” Regina said as she ran her hands up and down Emma’s arms.

“I love you, too,” Emma replied a second before she adjusted her position, which caused her to rub against Regina and made them both moan. She then fell into another kiss with the queen.

Both women’s hands began to roam each other’s bodies and though they were each responsive in their own ways, they were both surprised when the other moved a hand between their legs. Emma shuddered and exhaled against Regina’s cheek. Regina spread her legs a little further and wrapped them around the blonde’s waist.

“Have me,” Regina said as she tenderly stroked Emma’s clit.

“If my legs don’t give out first,” Emma joked again.

Regina chuckled.

“I’ll be here to catch you should that happen. And you know that if it’s too much you can tell me to stop or slow down.”

Emma nodded.

“I know. Don’t be _too_ gentle with me, though. I’m not as fragile as you may think.”

“No, of course not,” Regina smiled and swirled her fingers around Emma’s clit before she swiped them down over the bud firmly enough to make it harden and produce a whimper through a self-bitten bottom lip from Emma.

Regina smirked and Emma shook her head with a playful glare before she passionately kissed the smirk off of the other woman’s lips.

Emma, propped up on her forearm, tentatively danced her fingertips over one of Regina’s breasts. She felt the way smooth skin popped up into an erect, brown nipple and watched the reaction her achingly slow touch caused. Her other hand slid between slick folds at an equally glacial pace, which elicited a groan from the slightly frustrated queen.

Regina took a stunted breath in as she pushed her head further into the pillow underneath her. She kept her gaze locked onto Emma’s green eyes as the princess teased her, though she could tell by the intensity of the younger woman’s stare that she wasn’t doing it only to fluster and work her up. Emma also did it to memorize the feel and what it did to her.

Emma lowered her lips to Regina’s, but held off from kissing her as she hovered and maintained eye contact. Her hair tickled Regina’s chest as she slowly and subtly moved against Regina’s hand between her legs. She tipped her head forward and briefly closed her eyes when her forehead rested against her Queen’s.

Her tongue clacked against the roof of her mouth as she gulped and followed it with a wavered moan the instant Regina dipped two fingers inside her and rubbed her thumb over her sensitive clit. Her breathing became shallow and her hand jerked upward toward Regina’s clit.

Regina pulled her thumb away from Emma’s clit and moved her fingers in and out of the princess at a leisurely pace. “Too much?”

Emma separated her forehead from Regina’s then shook her head.

“You wouldn’t lie to me just so I’ll keep going because you think it’s what I want, right?”

Emma sheepishly smiled.

“I think we both know I would,” she answered, “but I’m not lying right now. It’s…a little overwhelming, but I don’t want to stop.”

“Physically overwhelming?”

“More emotionally, but physically too. Yes.”

“And you’re sure you’re alright?”

Emma warmly, confidently smiled and answered the question by opening her legs and grinding down on Regina’s hand.

“Love me,” Emma softly said, not quite a demand.

Regina smiled back and stroked her thumb over Emma’s clit again. In response, she felt Emma’s fingers end their teasing and press down on her own clit. They sighed together at the contact and Emma instinctually started to move above the brunette. Regina kept her eyes open no matter how much her pleasure made it hard to do and watched Emma ride her hand in her limited position.

“Mmm, you might not know how to ride horses very well, but it appears you are a natural at riding me,” Regina grinned then parted her lips to released a lust-filled moan that reverberated throughout the room when Emma’s thumb swirled over her clit and her fingers pleasurably twisted their way into the queen.

Emma laughed.

Regina’s hips bucked and she sped up her pace inside the blonde in response like a knee-jerk reaction.

For a moment, Emma stopped breathing. She held her breath while her heart beat a little faster and rougher against her chest. On the next thrust she met, she let out a half-moan, half-whimper of need and partial satisfaction.

“You. Are amazing,” Emma panted against Regina’s face before she buried hers in the woman’s neck and put her mouth to well-practiced use.

Regina brought her free hand up the length of Emma’s back and tangled her fingers in her hair all while she held on to the rocking, almost trembling, woman above her.

“I think I’m–I’m close,” Emma said against Regina’s neck between kisses. “More…stimulation…than I usually…give myself.”

She continued to pant and move with Regina as her actions slowed.

Regina’s breath hitched as she and Emma tightened around each other’s fingers within milliseconds of the other. With a few well-pressured upward swipes against Emma’s clit, she heard Emma cry out almost directly in her ear and tense completely. She ran her fingers through Emma’s hair as the woman remained rigid above her despite her own building orgasm put on hold due to the princess’ stilled fingers. A short moment later, Emma slumped against her and she continued to coax the younger woman through the aftershock.

Emma hummed into Regina’s neck and almost pulled her fingers out of the queen only to plunge them back inside, though shakier than before.

Regina’s hands abandoned blonde hair when Emma lifted herself up onto a shaky arm and sweetly grazed her lips against hers. Regina clutched Emma tighter with her legs as she removed her hand from between the blonde’s thighs and the action opened her up more to Emma.

Emma drove deeper into Regina and curled her fingers to hit a familiar rough patch of skin. She shifted between Regina’s to better push her body forward with her thrusting fingers for more leverage as she put her weight behind each forward motion. It gave her thrusts a little more force and caused her body to collide just barely with Regina’s. Emma switched from circles to a strumming motion on Regina’s clit—up and down and occasionally back and forth—the more frantically their bodies moved together and prevented her from making anything more than pathetic attempts at circles.

Both women panted and Regina emitted a few other breathy sounds of heated pleasure.

“Em… Em-ma,” Regina cried out as her orgasm shook her entire body while she continued to cant her hips toward Emma’s hand.

“Don’t stop,” Regina commanded.

“You want more?”

“Yes, yes!”

Emma moaned at Regina’s response and the way the woman greedily accepted her fingers thrust after thrust.

Regina gritted her teeth and clawed at Emma’s back in a desperate attempt to latch onto something.

“Can you…? Another,” Regina asked.

“Me or you,” Emma almost breathlessly asked.

“You.”

Emma bit her bottom lip and nodded.

“Mm,” Regina moaned, the only preamble to her pressing her palm to Emma’s hip bone and sweeping her thumb back and forth over Emma’s hardened bundle of nerves.

“I love you,” Regina repeated her words from earlier as she pulled Emma in closer by the back of her neck.

The queen squeezed her thighs around Emma’s waist as much as she could in their position and arched her back off of the bed as she met the princess’ thrust one final time before she reached her second orgasm.

Between the resounding, sexy-as-hell moan that ripped out of Regina and the way the brunette’s thumb hadn’t relented during her release, Emma tumbled over the edge only seconds after Regina and all but gracelessly collapsed on top of her again.

“You are _incredible_ ,” Regina complimented the blonde as Emma curled against her side and settled her head on her chest.

“I…have never felt so alive,” Emma smiled as she draped an arm over Regina’s middle.

The two of them were hot to the touch and covered in sheens of sweat.

“Honestly? Neither have I,” Regina confessed as she lazily held Emma to her with an arm wrapped around the other woman’s back.

“I love you too,” Emma said then kissed Regina’s cheek followed by a chaste kiss on the lips. “Sorry I couldn’t say it back sooner. I was a little preoccupied.”

Regina chuckled and Emma briefly joined her as she relaxed against her again.

“I’m also sorry you had to wait so long for you to be happy.”

“Oh, my love, you will _always_ be worth the wait.”

Emma smiled and closed her eyes. She hummed and wriggled against Regina’s side to get as close as possible to the other woman.

“I am so unbelievably satisfied that I could now sleep for the rest of the week just to regain the ability to stand,” Emma said after a moment.

“Staying here is a very tempting option,” Regina agreed. “Though you might actually be able to stand tomorrow. I’m sure this is the weakest you’ll feel after what we just did.”

“Until we go at it again in the morning,” Emma cheekily grinned.

“Is that what we’re doing,” Regina asked with a raised eyebrow, amused. “Who knew you were this insatiable?”

“Once you make love with a desirable and far too skilled queen, too much is never enough,” she joked.

Regina chuckled and kissed Emma’s forehead. They each felt a small spark at the contact, but said nothing as they further relaxed against each other.

“Do you think with your guards on high alert that they’re likely to barge in,” Emma asked. “I’d prefer you to be the only one to see me like this.”

“They would be making a mistake to barge in even if they are on high alert, but if you’re worried…” Regina trailed off and flicked a wrist.

In an instant, Emma was in a shift and a clean pair of underwear. Her nipples were partially visible through the shift, but the princess still appeared decent compared to if she had remained stripped bare.

“Thank you,” Emma said then raised her hand and hesitated for a second before she flicked her own wrist.

Regina looked down to see herself in a dark blue shift, but nothing else. She raised an eyebrow when she lifted her gaze to look at Emma again.

Emma smirked.

“I don’t want anyone else but me to see you naked either,” she explained.

Regina smiled.

“You are the first to care how anyone sees me. With the exception of Daniel.”

“With the exception of Daniel, they were all fools who definitely didn’t deserve you,” Emma responded.

It took only a few short moments before they both closed their eyes and fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Unfortunately, that bliss ended with the realization that they’d slept far too long. Both women awoke to the sound of loud chimes, several shouts, and what was assumed to be metal grinding and slashing against other metal. It all happened so fast and their sleep-induced haze, from their vision to their ability to process whatever was happening, had barely started to fade before the sounds grew louder and louder like the rumble of thunder as it rolled over one area to another in a storm.

Emma looked to Regina with sheer panic written on her face. She didn’t have the chance to ask what the brunette thought might be happening because the constant chimes coming from the vanity pulled their attention away from each other.

“Genie,” Regina quickly called out, a significant amount of worry in her voice as she grabbed Emma’s hand and headed toward the mirror.

The Genie appeared instantly.

“Your Majesty,” he rushed out with wide eyes. “It’s begun. The battle is well under way and I fear they’re—”

The chamber doors burst open and two guards in light colored armor swiftly burst inside. Behind the guards, Snow and Charming stood with two more guards in matching armor behind them to watch for any other attacks. Blue flew overhead and hovered with her wildly fluttering wings in the space between Emma’s parents and the guards who had entered the room.

One of the charging guards pushed Regina away from Emma and held her back as the other one yanked the blonde almost completely out of the room and toward the royals.

“What- No! Regina!”

“Emma!”

Regina’s eyes were wider than they’d ever been during her reign as the Evil Queen. She tried to rush to Emma, but the guard in front of her blocked her way and forced her back a few steps anytime she made an attempt.

“You are to stay away from my daughter,” Snow barked with fury evident in her eyes as they focused on Regina. “Or be put to death.”

“No,” Emma shouted.

Regina’s rage took over as she stared at her former stepdaughter. She looked at Emma and the sadness and concern on her face. It made her falter for a moment as she longed to reach out and assure her princess everything would be okay. She struggled against the guard as she tried to do just that, but the jolt his broad upper body gave her brought Regina back to the problem.

“I told you she wasn’t a prisoner,” she growled at Snow. “She’s free here.”

“Because you’ve done something to her, a spell of some sort, and she thinks that’s true. But you only want her because of me. This feud is between the two of us and it shouldn’t involve Emma.”

“You’re right about that,” Regina muttered then spoke loud enough so all in the room could hear. “She should be able to make her own choices. She should be able to decide where she goes, where she stays.”

“Easy for you to say when you have her mind twisted into believing you could be anything but evil,” Charming argued as he looked from his daughter to Regina.

“I haven’t _twisted_ her into believing anything,” Regina yelled back.

“You can’t keep me from her,” Emma loudly added to the fight.

“Honey, whatever she’s told you,” Snow tried to tell her, but the blonde wouldn’t listen.

“She’s told me the truth! It’s more than I can say for either of you,” she said as she looked at both of her parents. “I want to stay with Regina.”

“That’s _never_ going to happen,” Snow almost laughed at the absurdity of Emma’s declaration.

“Then I’m _never_ going to forgive you,” Emma shot back.

“Snow, you let her go right now or I promise you’ll live to regret taking her from me,” Regina threatened as she formed a fireball in her hand while the guard continued to hold her back.

“Do you see what she is, Emma,” Snow asked as she motioned to Regina and tried to use the scene as a teaching moment. “Good people don’t threaten others with magic. Not like that.”

“She’s protecting me,” Emma started to get hysterical.

“She doesn’t have to protect you from us,” Snow said with a slight shake of her head. “We’re your parents.”

“She’s done more right by me than you ever have.”

Emma’s eyes were steeled and set on her mother in a gaze that could have easily killed if she magically willed it.

“You think that she—” Snow started, but was cut off.

“Snow,” Charming said with wide eyes focused on Emma and Regina’s attire.

“What,” Snow asked with notable frustration as she looked to her husband.

“I believe Regina’s made their connection a little harder to break,” he explained before his shock turned to anger. “You ruined her for anyone else!”

Snow gasped and finally noticed how much skin each woman had on display. Each only wore shifts and what appeared to be little if nothing else.

“I’ll kill you,” Charming yelled with a deep voice and pulled out his sword.

He tried to approach Regina, but Emma elbowed and kicked the guard latched onto her. She freed herself and defensively stood in front of Regina, who was still detained by the other guard.

“I won’t let you,” Emma said. “No one _touches_ her. Do you understand me?”

Charming looked over Emma’s shoulder at the guard and nodded like it was a signal. The guard then released Regina and attempted to grab Emma, but Regina disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared next to the princess.

Regina grabbed her by the waist and moved her out of the way of the guard just as he went to wrap his arms around her. He was left grasping air and falling forward a step.

“Get us out of here,” Emma said to Regina.

“If you try to poof your way out,” Charming said, “I won’t hesitate to use this sword on you, no matter who’s watching.”

His expression was dead serious and fixed solely on Regina. Though he’d already used words to convey just what would happen, he used those determined and piercing blue eyes to affirm how honest he was about it.

Regina tightened her grip on Emma’s waist and pulled her as close as possible. Charming raised his sword a little more and held the tip only a foot away from her at chest level. Regina scowled in response, but after a moment she softened as she looked at Emma.

“You have to go,” Regina very quietly said.

“What? But you’re faster than him,” Emma said, her expression as sad as she’d been when she was first pulled away from the brunette.

“It doesn’t matter,” Regina told her as she shook her head and looked down for a moment. “I won’t let them come after us again. If they find us, he _will_ kill me and I can’t let you know what it’s like to lose someone at the hands of either of your parents.”

“But…” Emma weakly tried to say something while on the verge of tears. “I lo…”

“I know. And I do too,” Regina admitted as tears of her own started to form.

“Regina,” Emma pleaded.

“It’s not fair, but you have to trust me. Okay,” Regina asked.

Emma sniffled and nodded.

“With all of my heart,” Emma said.

Regina gasped, and so did Snow. A tear escaped Regina seconds before she kissed Emma on the cheek even though Charming moved the sword a little closer the more she moved toward his daughter.

Regina let her hand slip away from Emma’s hip and as she moved it behind the princess’ back, she summoned a silver necklace. She looked deeply into Emma’s eyes while she inconspicuously slipped the necklace into the band of Emma’s underwear near the swell of her backside. Half of the necklace hung loose under the cover of the shift while the other half was pressed between Emma’s skin and her underwear. With her eyes focused only on Emma’s gaze, she knew the blonde had felt her give her the necklace. Only then did she discreetly pull her hand away.

“I’ll find a way,” Emma could hardly speak above a raspy whisper as she cried. “I won’t lose you.”

Regina smiled a pained smile as she tried to believe those words, to believe they’d be happy together some day. But memories of how the last time she had loved someone had turned out, she found belief of that nature a hard concept to grasp. Emma still had hope, though. She’d always had it.

“If there’s anyone who can find a way, it’s you,” Regina said.

A guard took Emma by the arm and pulled her toward Snow while Charming lowered his sword and followed them. He never once took his eyes off of Regina in case she decided to try something.

Regina remained still and tense as she watched them drag Emma away from her. With every step Emma was forced to take, Regina felt a stabbing pain in her heart. She felt the pull, that odd magnetic pull that she finally understood was her magic pulling her toward Emma. Her eyes were impossibly wide and shinny with tears both shed and unshed as she watched Emma go.

Emma looked back at her with equally wet eyes and a forlorn expression. She looked like a cute little puppy, lost and unclaimed with big eyes that asked to be loved and it tore apart Regina’s heart.

Everyone except Blue left Regina to her chambers. The fairy fluttered down to eyelevel with the brunette.

“You made the right decision,” Blue calmly said.

“Fly away, Moth,” Regina spat. “No one asked you to approve my life choices.”

“This will be hard, Regina. There’s no denying that, but maybe you’ll see that this was for the best.”

“Best for who?”

“You seem to care for Emma.”

“ _Care_?” Regina scoffed. “Care doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

“This is what’s best for her. If she really means so much to you, you’ll let this play out as it is meant to.”

“Get out of my palace before I crush you with my _bare hand_ ,” Regina snapped.

“This isn’t the end of her story,” Blue said as she started to fly toward the window.

Regina followed her trajectory as Blue started to float closer and closer to the balcony.

“And I don’t think it’s the end of yours either,” Blue somewhat reluctantly admitted and then flew out of the small opening in the window to the balcony.

When she was finally alone, Regina allowed herself a moment to fall apart. She took a deep breath and released it in a gut-wrenching sob that made her body feel like a cage and hurt her heart. The next inhale was just as deep as the first, but was accompanied by sniffling and the appearance of a few tears as they spilled down her cheeks.

* * *

“You are  _not_ to sneak off again,” Charming demanded of Emma as he, Snow, and their daughter entered their family’s palace. “We will have guards posted outside your chambers every night after supper to ensure they escort you around the grounds if you need something, but you are not to be without them.”

Emma was angry even though tears stained her cheeks and her eyes were puffy and red from the crying she didn’t care to stop during the long carriage ride back to her “rightful” palace, her home. She heard everything he’d said so far, but she certainly didn’t agree with it and she definitely didn’t want to follow through with any of it.

“All those stories you told me about Regina were lies at the core. You always said she _is_ evil. She’s not evil anymore. _You_ are,” Emma bitterly argued as she finally looked at her father for the first time since she’d been seized from Regina’s palace.

“How _dare_ you,” Charming barked. “That _witch_ isn’t whatever she tricked you into believing she is while you were there. She’s heartless and only wants to—”

“Love me! She only wants to love me! That isn’t heartless. That’s beautiful,” Emma exclaimed. “You’re always talking about how hard you had to fight for your true love and how rare it is to find it. Why can’t you accept that I feel so strongly for Regina? That she feels the same about me? I don’t know if it’s True Love, but it feels damn perfect and everlasting to me.”

Charming shook her head.

“I cannot even begin to wrap my mind around you with any of the other princesses in this land, frankly because you never showed any interest, so I hope you can forgive me for not being able to picture you with the woman that’s been trying to take you from us since the day you were born.”

“I don’t want to be with any of the princesses. I want to be with Regina.”

Charming sighed and looked to Snow for help.

“Are you going to tell her why that’s not going to happen,” Charming asked his wife as he gestured toward Emma.

Snow had remained silent the entire way back to the palace. She hadn’t spoken since they had been in Regina’s bedchamber. She blinked and looked from Charming to Emma. When she saw her daughter, really seemed to see her for the first time since the blow up at Regina’s, she furrowed her brow as curiosity swam in her green eyes.

“You two were…together…just before we arrived,” Snow slowly and uncomfortably asked.

“What kind of question is that,” Charming asked, surprised and confused and incredibly upset.

Snow ignored him and continued to focus her attention on Emma and the answer.

Emma looked confused too, but nodded in response.

“Well, technically we were sleeping before you _forced_ your way into the room, but yes. We were together before then,” Emma elaborated. “How _did_ you force your way in? There was a barrier.”

Snow nodded. “There _was_. It started flickering and then burst into little golden particles, like raindrops.”

Emma shook her head. “My magic was working to keep that barrier up. It wouldn’t just disappear unless…”

Emma trailed off as she thought about her magic lessons with Regina. Magic was emotion. If the barrier went down at the same time her walls had gone down, the same time she’d let Regina in, could that have caused her magic to loosen up and let her parents into the castle?

Emma scoffed at the realization.

“Great. I guess using magic to keep a physical guard up isn’t a good idea if you plan on letting your _emotional_ guard down,” she angrily muttered.

Snow seemed taken aback at the admission. For some reason, though, it also looked like she’d heard the answer she was expecting.

“It matters not,” Charming said as he cut back into the conversation. “You’re here now and starting tomorrow, you’ll spend every day for the rest of the week attending court with us. And this weekend, you will start courting from a list of suitors your mother and I will put together for you.”

“What?! I just told you how I feel about Regina and you’re just going to make me court a bunch of _princes_ until I find someone wealthy and _maybe_ —if I’m lucky, right?—someone who’s a little compatible with me?”

“I’m sure you’ll find common ground with one of the suitors. I wouldn’t mind if you found a stable boy or shepherd or someone who wasn’t royal either. Anyone but Regina, which also makes this a good time to mention you are never to tell anyone what you’ve done with her. We’ve managed to keep details about your abduction small and secretive. Outside of your mother, Blue, Red, you, and myself no one is to know or speak of how you _chose_ to let her violate you.”

Emma rolled her eyes.

“She didn’t _violate_ me.”

Charming closed his eyes and shook his head.

“But if that’s what you want to call it,” she continued, “maybe it’ll help you understand if you know that _I_ violated _her_ as well. More times than she ever got to ‘violate’ me.”

“Okay, that is enough,” Snow spoke up as she tried to shake the images from her mind.

Charming went red in the face with rage and he clenched his fists tightly at his sides.

“Leave us,” Snow sternly told Emma, though with more composure than her father.

Emma glared at both of them, but exited the room without hesitation, happy to get away from them.

Once she was out of earshot, Snow directed her attention to Charming.

“Though I agree she should be punished for foolishly running off, I think there’s more to her and Regina than we’d like to believe.”

“Oh, Snow. You too? Regina isn’t capable of loving her.”

“No matter what she’s done, Regina’s always capable of love,” Snow defended Regina. “And she may just be capable of loving Emma.”

Charming threw his hands in the air and dropped them against his sides out of frustration.

“Listen to me, Charming,” Snow continued. “Regina knows a lot about magic. She would have known it was a possibility that the barrier would lower if she got Emma to let go, to trust her. Why would she risk even a _chance_ of that happening?”

“To rub it in our faces that she’s _defiled_ our daughter.”

“But she didn’t care about telling us what they’d done. She only cared about Emma.”

Charming thought about it then let out an agitated sigh.

“You might have a point, but I’m not ready to consider that Regina is truthfully in love with our daughter. After everything she’s done, I can’t trust a thing that woman says.”

“I know. I know, but I only wanted to talk through how strange this all seems that Regina would lie about her feelings for Emma as part of her revenge against me. It doesn’t make sense to me anymore. That’s all.”

“You really should have let me kill her.”

“No, Emma’s still adamant that what they have is real. She said she would never forgive us if we had Regina killed, or if you did it yourself, and I believe that. For now, we’ll keep an eye out and make sure she doesn’t get to Emma again, but we’ll leave her to her previous punishment. She is to remain banished, left to live alone in her palace. If she comes near Emma again, I’ll reconsider her situation, but not a moment sooner.”

“Fine,” Charming accepted with a heavy sigh before they both went to bed.

* * *

In her bedchamber, with a guard posted outside as promised, Emma pulled out the silver necklace Regina had slipped her. She held it up to finally look at it and smiled as the light reflected off a circle made out of pressed metal. It was simple, but Emma knew there was significance to it other than the fact that Regina had been the one to give it to her. Thoughts of Regina filled her mind and her smile faded as the loneliness of her Regina-less bedchamber reminded her she might not see the brunette for a while, if she ever got to see her again at all.

She closed her eyes and wished she could somehow see Regina again, to hear her voice and know that even if they weren’t together as they had been since she’d joined the Queen at her palace that they still had each other; that they were both okay and able to communicate.

 She opened her eyes, but nothing had changed. Truthfully, as much hope as she had, she hadn’t expected things to be magically fixed. She didn’t even know if she could use magic to do what she was asking, what she wished would happen.

Suddenly, a green glow faded in from the balcony and drew Emma’s attention to a tiny ball of light as it approached her. But it wasn’t a light, Emma realized as it got closer. It was a fairy.

“I hear your wish,” a curly blonde fairy with rosy cheeks and an accent said with a smile. “Hello, Emma. I’m Tinker Bell.”

“Wait, are you…my fairy godmother? I thought Blue was the fairy assigned to my family,” Emma said.

The fairy chuckled.

“She is, but I’ve been assigned to keep a watchful eye on you since your return.”

“Oh. Okay. So…you heard me? Right now when I asked—”

“When you _wished_ to see Regina,” she corrected. “Yes, I did.”

“Does…that mean you can grant it?”

“Well, I think I can…even though I’m not really supposed to help Regina.”

“But you’d be helping _me_ ,” Emma quickly said so she didn’t lose her wish, or her fairy.

“And I’d also be helping Regina by allowing the two of you to connect,” Tinker Bell explained.

Emma frowned.

“Then why did you bother coming here,” she asked with a biting tone and turned away from the fairy.

She looked down at her necklace and sighed before she unclasped it and put it on herself in front of her vanity mirror, one of the only mirrors uncovered in the palace at the time.

“You haven’t been listening,” Tinker Bell said seconds before a green flash illuminated the room and her fairy went from less than pint sized to average human height in an instant.

Emma turned to her as she fastened the clasp on her necklace and started to run the circle along the chain out of an immediately enacted nervous habit.

“I’m not _supposed_ to help Regina. That doesn’t mean I won’t.”

Emma’s eyes popped wide open.

“Really?”

Tinker Bell nodded and smiled.

“Okay, so you’ll grant my wish.”

“I will. Unfortunately, it will be the only wish I can grant you, but I think there’s a perfect way to make this single wish count as two.”

“How?”

Tinker Bell only continued to smile in response. A second later, she pulled out a wand and ran it up and down the length of Emma’s body a couple of times. When she was done, she placed the wand back in her satchel and beamed.

“Want to find out,” Tinker Bell asked in response to Emma’s previous question.

Emma nodded and gently squeezed the necklace as she did.

“Touch the mirror,” Tinker Bell happily instructed. “Think about Regina and touch it.”

Emma looked from Tinker Bell to the mirror and took a deep breath to relax. She controlled her strong and hectic emotions and focused only on Regina while she slowly brought her hand closer to the mirror. Once she had a single image of Regina locked in her mind and as vivid as if she was staring right at her, she pressed her fingers to the glass. The surface rippled from a reflective material to a solid image of Regina alone on her bed with tear tracks on her face.

“Regina,” she breathed out, sad to see her love in such a state.

The sound earned Regina’s attention and the brunette slowly looked up with a disbelieving and questioning look on her face. Her eyes locked on the mirror and she flicked a wrist as she stood up and approached it.

“Genie, show her to me,” Regina commanded.

Only about a second later, Regina gasped and tears of joy started to build up in her eyes.

“I can see you,” Regina breathlessly exclaimed. “But how?”

Emma looked over at Tinker Bell and the fairy stepped in front of the mirror.

“Regina, meet Tinker Bell. She’s the fairy that made this possible. How did you make this possible again,” Emma finally thought to ask.

“I reversed the spell the Blue Fairy cast on you. Regina can now see you anytime she asks so long as there’s something reflective nearby and you can do the same,” she told Emma.

“No fairy has ever helped me,” Regina said, a little skeptical.

“No, and that’s why I was happy to take on the job of watching out for Emma during this ‘fragile time’. That’s how it was explained to me, but I’ve been able to see parts of your lives, together and apart, and I really don’t think either of you is fragile.”

“We’re not,” Regina and Emma answered in harmony.

Tinker Bell brightly smiled and looked between the two women.

“And this is why I knew I had to help Regina,” she explained further. “No one’s really given you another chance, a _real_ chance…until Emma. Everyone’s supposed to get a chance, a second chance if needed. Even if you’ve screwed up a little more than once, or twice, I believe there’s still some good in you, Regina. Prove it by showing me this wish wasn’t wasted.”

“Thank you,” Regina gratefully said through the mirror.

“I’ll be around. Just call for me and I’ll appear,” Tinker Bell told Emma then looked at Regina. “Both of you.”

“Thank you,” Emma said with bright eyes and a faint glow to her cheeks.

“Enjoy yourselves,” Tinker Bell grinned before another flash of green momentarily lit the room before it faded to reveal the other blonde was back to fairy size just as she flew away.

Emma looked from where Tinker Bell had flown then back to the mirror and smiled at Regina.

“I found a way,” she slowly and happily said with a slightly wavering voice as her own tears of joy formed.

“You certainly did,” Regina replied and put her hand on the mirror in an attempt to feel closer to the princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to end this chapter on a happy note, but the Blue Fairy's right. This story isn't done yet. :) Leave a review and let me know what you think.


	17. Chapter 17

“It should concern me how much I already miss you,” Emma said before she sniffled.

“I feel the same,” Regina smiled and stroked part of the mirror.

“You were crying?”

“Yes, my love. I couldn’t bear watching you be ripped away from me, especially when you’re unhappy there with your parents.”

Emma leaned against the hand that she had placed on the mirror.

“I won’t be unhappy if I’m with you. With my magic I can—”

“No, Emma. You must stay put,” Regina quickly refused her with a tight and pained expression.

“What?”

Emma instantly looked betrayed and took a step back.

“I want to return to you,” Emma said as soon as she got over her previous tears, her voice as determined as her expression.

“You know I want nothing more than that, but you have to stay there.”

“That makes no sense. If want me there, I’ll be there. I just have to think and then—”

“Emma, don’t,” Regina pleaded with notable strain in her voice, like the words sliced right through her from the inside out.

“Regina,” Emma sighed and pouted.

“Please. Emma, I’m trying to keep you safe.”

“Safe?! You think I’m safe here? With them?”

“If you leave and your parents find out, things won’t be so…calm.”

“You call what happened calm?”

“It could have been worse.”

“Worse than court every day all week, sitting next to parents that make me furious and disgusted? Worse than the suitors I’ll have to endure until I find a fitting man that will wed me? At least I assume that’s the plan.”

Regina clenched her jaw and fists. Anger flashed in her eyes for a brief moment before she let her feelings toward what Emma’s parents were doing slip away from the surface. She instead focused on Emma and sighed while a frown replaced her outwardly expressed anger.

“I wish I could harm them the way they harm you,” Regina darkly admitted.

“Right now I might just let you.”

“Don’t say that,” Regina somewhat pleaded and shook her head.

“Why not? They clearly don’t care what happens to me, how I feel about anything.”

“Because it’s not who you are. Emma, look at me.”

Emma looked to the mirror with a subtle pout and sharp eyes. She took a deep breath and a small step toward the image of Regina.

“You’re light and good and you’re the one person who’s been able to stop me from torturing my own guards when torture wasn’t necessary.”

Emma softened and sat down in front of the mirror. Regina did the same on the other side.

“Why are they doing this to me,” Emma asked with a tired tone and sad look.

“I’m afraid I might be at fault.”

“You and my parents have a history. I understand that, but you and I have a future.”

Regina smiled.

“I mean, we could,” Emma amended.

“I will make sure we have a future if it the last thing I do,” Regina assured with a hint of a grin.

Emma lit up.

Before she knew it, the younger woman reached out and touched the mirror again. Just a little closer, just to reach out and feel—

Her fingers barely tapped the reflective glass before they disappeared within the mirror. She gasped and Regina did too. Suddenly, images of the first time it had happened—her hand through a mirror when talking to Regina—flashed through her mind. The memory spell hadn’t been reversed, but she remembered. Bits and pieces, but she remembered.

“Emma,” Regina breathed out with thick emotion.

The brunette reached out and her fingers brushed Emma’s. Her heart beat faster and she smiled as she slowly worked to interlock their hands. The tighter their joined grip became, sparks of magic crackled between their contact.

Emma leaned forward in her chair and squeezed Regina’s hand on the other side of the mirror.

“I want to be with you,” Emma said again for clarification while she started to stand and leaned extremely close to the mirror.

With teary eyes, Regina pushed against Emma’s hand and kept her from going through the mirror as intended.

“Not now,” Regina said, her voice stained again. “You can’t leave your parents’ palace. It’s too soon.”

“I don’t want to do this without you,” Emma frowned.

“You won’t. I’ll be right here. Always. Whenever you need me,” Regina said as her eyes traveled down to Emma’s sternum. “I see you kept my necklace safe along your journey.”

“ _Your_ necklace,” Emma asked with a raised brow. “I thought it was a gift.”

Regina smiled, their hands still linked on the older woman’s side of the mirror.

“It is. Even though it came from me it was never really mine, always yours.”

Emma returned Regina’s smile and instinctively touched her free hand to the necklace.

“The circle represents unity and eternity. Perfect for us and even _more_ perfect for the enchantment I put on it.”

“Oh? So you _did_ cast a spell on me,” Emma teased with a smirk.

“Quite the contrary, my dear princess,” Regina grinned back. “It is you who has cast a spell on me.”

“Mm, you are incredibly whipped, My Queen.”

“Yes, well, I enjoy satisfying your every whim. Now, back to the enchantment on the necklace.”

“Right, the necklace,” Emma nodded.

“The necklace responds to your distress and any other reason you have to see me. You call for me and I’ll know as long as you touch the necklace.”

“Oh, so…you can feel what I feel when I touch it,” Emma asked and looked down to look at her fingers pressed to sterling silver. “Like right now?”

“Yes. Of course, it works so well since we both have magic and that magic connects us. Also, we’re holding hands therefore I can feel what you’re feeling without the help of the necklace. Magic.”

“Impressive.”

They chuckled and after a moment, Emma squeezed Regina’s hand again.

“If I can’t be with you,” Emma said, “will you promise to talk to me here? Every day, toward the end of the day, and we can talk about anything and everything and I can pretend I’m still home.”

Emma’s eyes widened at the admission. She knew her family’s palace no longer felt like home and she felt better, happier, safer at Regina’s, but she’d never completely admitted it out loud before either.

Regina looked just as shocked, but a second later she visibly melted and stroked the back of Emma’s hand with her thumb.

“I’d like that,” Regina replied. “I’ll be here when you wake up. And again before you go to bed.”

“I love you,” Emma smiled.

“I love you,” Regina smiled back then lifted Emma’s hand to her lips.

Regina kissed the blonde’s hand and Emma slid her other hand through the mirror, but kept herself rooted in her chair.

Regina took her other hand and for a moment they remained in front of the mirror, hand in hand.

“You know,” Emma seductively smirked at Regina and purred her words. “If you stick around long enough, you might be in for a show.”

Emma eased her hands out of Regina’s grasp and pulled them back onto her side of the mirror. She slipped a sleeve off her shoulder and suggestively raised her eyebrows.

Regina laughed and briefly looked away.

“How quickly you seem to be adjusting to our new situation,” Regina said.

“It seems all the good feelings I felt with you earlier this evening have been replaced with anger and _immense_ tension.”

Emma pushed her other sleeve off of her other shoulder and coyly bit her bottom lip.

Regina couldn’t look away from Emma’s fully bared clavicle, the neckline of her shift only seconds away from falling over to reveal the rest of the blonde’s chest. She licked her lips and then reevaluated the situation. She cleared her throat and resituated herself in front of the mirror.

“We just did this, my love. How could you possibly want more given where we are?”

“A princess needs a release. It would be much more enjoyable for _this_ princess if her Queen could participate even with a mirror between us.”

“You should _sleep_ ,” Regina said.

Emma frowned before an idea came to her.

“If I can’t come to you, why don’t _you_ come to me?”

“Not just yet, dear,” Regina responded.

Emma pouted and it caused Regina to chuckle.

“It’s too soon,” Regina reminded her. “If I stay there with you there is a good chance we’ll be found again. I don’t want to lose you for good.”

Emma sighed.

“I get it,” the younger woman nodded. “You’re right and I don’t want to lose you either. So, we’ll stick to our sides of the mirror…mostly.”

Regina grinned.

“That sounds perfect.”

“I miss you again already,” Emma confessed.

“I couldn’t agree more. Goodnight, my love.”

“See you in the morning?”

“That’s a promise,” Regina confirmed.

“If we ever manage to evade my parents again, I think we owe my favorite fairy a grand supper at your palace to show our gratitude.”

“It’s the second thing on my to-do list if I get you away from them again.”

“And the first thing on your to-do list?”

Regina grinned and answered, “You.”

Emma chuckled and spun around so she had to look over her shoulder to look at Regina.

“Get to bed, dear,” Regina gently ordered.

“Yes, My Queen,” Emma continued to smirk. “Give me a wake up chime.”

“I’ll have you up just before dawn. I love you.”

“I love you.”

The image of Regina swirled and disappeared and even though the brunette was out of sight, Emma still felt the woman’s presence. Her smile didn’t fade as she climbed into bed and once she was settled under the covers, she felt her necklace heat up against her chest.

Regina. She just knew it was her. She could feel the Queen’s love and magic and within minutes her eyes fluttered shut. She relaxed mentally and emotionally and the feel of Regina that emanated from the necklace calmed her. It didn’t take long before Emma fell asleep.

* * *

As the sky gradually started to lighten and a golden-yellow glow crept through the window near the vanity, three chimes sounded from Emma’s mirror. The reflective properties of the mirror vanished as Regina appeared within the lavish frame. Emma saw nothing but the backs of her eyelids, but as she rose from the depths of slumber she heard her name. It was quietly called out in hushed tones over and over until Emma’s eyes finally opened.

The blonde stretched, yawned, rolled onto her side and focused her still partially blurry vision on the mirror. She immediately smiled at the well put together woman on the other side with her chocolate brown eyes fixated on her.

“Quite the morning after,” Emma gravelly said and remained in her bed for another moment before she slowly got up and perched herself on the chair positioned in front of Regina.

“Indeed it is,” Regina, already with a smile on her face, replied.

“Watch the sunrise with me?”

“Of course, my love.”

“No matter how beautiful the colors of the sky appear to be, nothing compares to your beauty,” Emma complimented the brunette.

“The same can be said about you.”

They smiled at each other for a little while longer then turned to stare at the sun. After several moments of peacefully watching the sun rise side by side, Emma frowned as the realization of the new day hit her like the impact caused by being thrown from a bucking horse.

“What’s wrong,” Regina asked and dragged Emma’s attention away from the sunrise.

“I’ll have to sit through court soon and before I know it there will be a parade of wealthy men forced upon me.”

“I am so sorry,” Regina apologized.

“It isn’t your fault. You shouldn’t apologize, _they_ should.”

“The _second_ I thought I might love you I should have stopped teasing them that I had you and they would never get you back.”

“Don’t blame yourself for their mistakes. I would rather you keep flaunting me as your possession in front of them than for them to get away with how they treat me under the claim that they only want what is best for me.

“It isn’t right or fair and even though my mother asked about princesses, I’m sure they wouldn’t bother.”

“Did you express an interest in other women,” Regina shakily asked with a raised brow while she rolled the fabric of her shift between her fingers.

“Of course not. My words exactly when my mother said I’ve never shown an interest in princesses was that I’m not interested in them, I’m interested in Regina.”

Regina exhaled with relief and smiled.

“Worry not, my dashing Queen,” Emma assured her, “my parents could never set me up with anyone I’d ever even _consider_ to choose over you. When I called you my one and only I meant it. I will _always_ mean it.”

“My sentiments exactly.”

Outside Emma’s door there were voices. They weren’t right outside, but the once familiar, recognizable morning routine of Emma’s current palace seemed to be in full swing.

“I’ll need to dress and head downstairs soon,” Emma frowned. “I’m not ready for you to go.”

“I won’t be gone long, Emma,” Regina genuinely promised. “I’ll be here with you in no time.”

Emma sighed and sadly stared at the door, dread in her green eyes as she hated the reality of her situation. A few second passed before an idea came to her.

“While you’re still here, why don’t you watch me get ready?”

“Including watching you change,” Regina asked with a smirk.

“ _Especially_ watching me change,” Emma grinned.

The blonde carelessly slipped out of her shift and tantalizingly slowly removed her underwear. She stood bare before Regina with a bright and suddenly happy smile directed at Regina while the brunette gratefully appraised the younger woman with yearning eyes.

“Absolutely stunning,” Regina said.

Emma turned around and gave the other woman a good view of every last inch of her.

“When I get out of this prison,” Emma said, “there are so many things I’d like you to show me.”

“Gods, Emma,” Regina practically moaned, eyes closed, and clawed at the finish of her own vanity.

When Regina opened her eyes, Emma smugly smirked at her and continued to speak.

“I bet you know a trick or two that will blow. My. Mind,” Emma purred and boldly ran her hands up her sides and toward her chest.

“I _have_ corrupted you,” Regina deadpanned while she tried and failed to keep her eyes from following Emma’s hands.

“Not corrupted,” Emma corrected. “Transformed.”

“You were shy for such a long time. One night with me changed all that?”

“I’ve always been adventurous and we both knew that once I let you in all bets were off.”

“Well, as much as I enjoy your lusty ambitions, I want to keep respecting you and your body sweetly in the bedchamber at least for a little while longer before we try anything too exciting.”

Emma smiled and tore her hands away from her body. She let her arms hang at her sides and strode naked to her closet. She picked out a few outfits and brought them back with her to the vanity. She held each one up to the mirror, one at a time, and silently asked for Regina’s opinion.

“You’ll look perfect in all of them, but I would hate for you to look perfect for someone else, for your parents or possibly one of your soon-to-arrive potential suitors.”

“But it wouldn’t be for any of them,” Emma said. “Pick my outfit and no matter who sees me in it, we’ll both know I’m wearing it for you.”

“Then wear the red one. It’s bold and it will surely piss off your parents. They’ll take it as a sign of rebellion. It will be as though I’ve left my mark on you.”

Emma lit up, thoroughly excited by the idea.

“The red dress it is,” the princess confirmed and tossed the other dresses aside.

Regina watched Emma slide into the dress and pluck and tug at the fastenings.

“Magic can help you do that in an instant,” the brunette helpfully supplied.

“Oh, right,” Emma said with a smile and laughed at herself before she concentrated then a few seconds later flicked her wrist.

Her dress clung to her just tightly enough to accentuate her wonderful form without flashing too much skin or drawing too much attention to certain assets.

“Gorgeous as always, my love,” Regina smiled.

“Like you don’t look ten times as gorgeous as you think I am,” Emma responded. “You were fully dressed, makeup and hair done to perfection as usual, before I awoke. When you first saw me this morning my hair was probably all over the place, probably still is, and I have no makeup on.”

“And you look fantastic without any of it.”

“Then one day you’ll let me see you like that. Natural and beautiful because you _are_ a natural beauty. Don’t ever doubt that.”

Regina blushed for the first time in a long time, actually blushed. She’d gone far too long without hearing such sincere compliments and to hear them from Emma again and again without hesitation or being spurred on by the need to make the Queen feel powerful in some way like she often expected of her meaningless playthings both male and female. Of course, expected or not, Regina did feel powerful whenever she was with Emma. Words or no words exchanged between them, Emma’s mere presence gave Regina strength to be more and be better and live.

Regina cleared her throat and tried to conceal her blush, to relax and make it go away, then changed the subject.

“You make sure to come back here as soon as you can and tell me everything that happens today. I want to know how they treat you and know that you’re okay, or if you’re not okay. You tell me and if I don’t like what I hear, I don’t care what happens to me. I will face your parents and deal with any consequences that may bring.”

“Consequences? What ‘happens to you’? What would happen to you? You have magic and don’t think I won’t help,” Emma said.

Regina tensed.

“I don’t care what happens to me,” Regina slowly and more sternly repeated. “But I do care what happens to you.”

Suddenly, the Blue Fairy’s words echoed in her head. If something happened to herself it would surely destroy Emma. That was why she’d decided to stay away from the princess as the fairy suggested. That was until another fairy allowed them a chance to be together in secret. The last time she’d secretly had a relationship with someone, though, it killed him and she spent years falling into darkness before Emma called to her like a beacon in the shadows of her evil. Destroying Emma would be the same as killing her, ripping her heart out herself and crushing it to dust before Emma might in fact follow Regina’s previously traveled path to a blackened heart.

“Regina?”

The brunette shook her head and came back to the present. She smiled at Emma and touched the mirror for a moment before she pulled back and brushed out her skirts while she stood.

“You should go, my love. Make your parents squirm,” Regina darkly growled with a smirk.

Emma grinned back, a little dark for the light princess, and damn did Regina find it sexy. It wasn’t what attracted her to Emma and she would do her best to keep the blonde’s darkness only skin deep if she were to display any more darkness at all; on the surface but never in her soul or heart or bones like it lie in Regina.

“Be with you soon, Regina,” Emma smiled and blew her a kiss.

Regina blew one back and said, “May you not suffer today, my love. I wish you no pain.”

“Unfortunately, I have a feeling I won’t get through the day unscathed by either of those things,” Emma confessed. “I love you…with all my heart.”

Regina choked back a sob and flashed a watery smile.

“I love you, too. With all _my_ heart, hideous and large black spots included.”

Emma furrowed her brow.

“There are a few things I suppose I need to teach you about hearts,” Regina said with light laughter. “In time, dear. The important thing is that our love can help you through the day.”

Regina touched her necklace, the one Emma made with the ring from Daniel, and Emma’s own necklace from the other woman warmed against her chest.

“Is that how you’ve allowed us to be connected with the enchantment,” Emma asked with her eyes set on Regina’s necklace.

“Though the ring on this chain will always be a symbol of my love with Daniel, you brought it back to me both physically and metaphorically. The enchantment tethers us through these objects, but our magic tethers us without more than our emotions, our hearts.”

The voices outside Emma’s chamber grew louder and closer and she recognized one as a male, most likely a guard.

“I really should go. We’ve said so many goodbyes this morning,” Emma said.

“It is always hard to part with you, Emma. But we shall see each other before late evening is upon us. I’ll call you to the mirror every morning and you may call me to it at the end of every day.”

“That is another promise I make you and I intend to keep it. Until sunset,” Emma smiled.

“Until sunset,” Regina fondly agreed.

* * *

Her final morning farewell with Regina seemed to be the last good part of her day and it wasn’t even noon yet. She only ate half of her breakfast before things took a turn toward the expected suffering she hated even the possibility of having to endure.

“When you are finished with your meal you are to go to your chamber and change immediately. We will _not_ announce your return with you wearing that dress,” Charming sternly stated while he speared through one of the few remaining bites left on his plate.

“We shall have your handmaid rid your wardrobe of anything in red. From now on you shall wear either white, pink, or pastel colors.”

“Pastels? You aren’t serious, Father,” Emma shouted across the table.

“Light colors only,” Charming said in his booming, authoritative tone. “You will not make a fool of us. This family is to look as strong as it’s ever looked. We cannot afford any more of your silly, immature mistakes.”

Emma scoffed.

“For a man who’s told me why I have no grandparents to visit with, you sound an awful lot like your wretched ‘ _father’_ ,” Emma growled.

“Do not take that tone with him, Emma,” Snow sharply scolded. “He is doing his best with you, as am I. If we thought you were difficult before…”

“Yes, I’m aware. I am a failure as a daughter and a disgrace to this kingdom. I am _not_ what you wanted or what you thought, what you hoped, I would be once I grew up. I’ll be happy to share with you that you two aren’t what I imaged either. Given recent revelations I suppose you never actually were.”

She abandoned her unfinished breakfast and scraped the legs of her chair across the floor as she abruptly stood and then stormed out of the room.

On her way to the chamber, a guard ready at the bottom of the stairs to accompany her wherever she wandered, she saw a familiar face walk toward the main landing in front of the stairs she was headed toward.

Emma glared at the Huntsman and tried her best to brush past him and reach the stairs without a conversation, but he caught her by the arm before her foot even touched the first step.

“Princess,” he greeted and dipped into a bow, his hand still gripped around her arm.

“This is your fault,” Emma spat and yanked her arm out of his grasp.

“Emma, she had my heart. She’s evil and she used you just as she uses everyone else that can give her what she wants.”

“You think you saved me from her, but she saved me from my parents and this farce of a life.”

“Your parents are good people. She’s not. You weren’t safe there. Your parents…they helped me get my heart back. Regina never would have—”

“You do _not_ get to call her by name like that. You do not have the _honor_ to be so familiar with her,” Emma snarled.

The Huntsman sighed.

“She never would have given my heart back willingly,” he told her.

“I was working on it. You didn’t give me enough time to convince her giving it back wouldn’t be a bad thing. Although, clearly I should have never bothered to fight for _your_ heart in the first place. It isn’t worth it.”

Emma shouldered him on her way up the stairs and the guard walked beside her all the way to her chamber. When she reached her door, she left the guard behind but someone entered behind her. She spun around with angrily narrowed eyes at the intruder when she recognized the woman as her handmaid. Apparently, her argument with the Huntsman cost her precious time to hide her limited and much preferred wardrobe before the elder woman could dispose of it as her father had ordered.

Emma huffed and the handmaid asked for her pardon before she shuffled over to the blonde’s closet. While the slightly round woman with graying light brown hair slowly worked to throw the outfits deemed too scandalous for the princess into a pile together, Emma walked over the window and stared down at the most priceless of items that decorated the windowsill. It was a gift from her parents when she was a child. A crystal clear figurine of a swan with its neck and wings outstretched, gems of her birthstone in place of more accurate looking eyes, and the figurine beautifully reflected the light that shined through the window. She used to stare at it for long moments of time when she could as a child and admired it as not just a beautiful figurine but also as a loving gift from her loving parents.

When she looked at it then, she saw no beauty in the way the glass captured and bounced the light back out into the chamber. She saw only lies. The memories and sentimental value attached to the object were all lies that were bitter when swallowed and Emma had suddenly gulped them down in one large bite.

She grabbed the swan figurine, gripped it tight like no fragile thing should be gripped, and hurled it across the chamber. The glass impacted the tough wall with enough force to create a crack through the swan’s body, but the figurine didn’t smash until it landed on the floor and scattered into several smaller pieces.

The guard burst into the room and inspected the damage, not a hair harmed on the princess’ head or the frightened handmaid’s. He turned to find the cause for the troubling sound that had made him act so quickly and instinctively as part of his job description. The swan’s head was mostly still intact but had been separated from the body while one of the wings had been clipped in half and the other stuck to a fraction of one of the swan’s shattered sides.

“You may deliver that to the King and Queen,” Emma said to the guard. “I think they should know their broken swan no longer serves them.”

The guard’s face revealed he didn’t follow what Emma said, but the blonde didn’t care. Her message was clear enough. She’d broken a precious gift from her parents that their entire family of three had all cherished as a symbol of their bond and Emma’s unavoidable transition from a tiny little duckling to a graceful swan. Grace still hadn’t come to her, but it was how her parents had perceived the end results after adolescence. There was still time to achieve grace in her adulthood, but Emma would not gracefully bow out of the fight with her parents any time soon.

The guard gathered up the pieces and closed the door on his way out of the chamber, his hands full of broken glass.

Once the two women were alone again, the handmaid took a moment to calm herself before she removed the last couple of outfits to discard. After the outfits were laid out on Emma’s bed, the handmaid returned to Emma’s closet and selected a very traditional, light pink dress that Emma loathed. It looked to belong in Snow’s wardrobe, though it flattered princesses more than queens so it would have fit her mother’s taste before marriage and her ascension to the throne.

During the time it took for the handmaid to choose a dress and sort out the ones to get rid of, Emma sat in front of the mirror. Misery distorted the blonde’s features and happiness seemed so far away. She wanted Regina, she wanted to run from the chaos that existed in the palace she no longer called home, and she wanted to be left alone by the guards, by the handmaid, by the Huntsman, by her parents.

Emma closed her eyes and thought of all the sunsets she’d shared with Regina. The picnic, the balcony, the bed, Regina’s body and hers while she gave her Queen pleasure that she loved to witness as much as Regina loved to receive.

“Your Highness?”

 Emma opened her eyes and saw the handmaid force a smile while she held up the vile dress. She sighed and stood, momentarily resigned to the chain of events that she needed to bear. She stripped down to her nude colored shift and stepped into the new dress. She allowed herself to be further dressed without incident and frowned as she took her seat in front of the mirror only for the handmaid to fix up her hair into a reserved bun. She separated herself from the physical and thought of only Regina, of the time they spent in that village with people who didn’t call the brunette evil, of the night they thankfully got to share together before she was ripped away from her love.

Time slowed as the handmaid made her presentable for the public because after what felt like an exorbitant amount of time, Emma was traded off from the handmaid’s company to the guard’s and he led her down the grand staircase to where her parents held court. Two guards stationed outside of the room opened the large double doors to her and the guard that escorted her. When she was granted access to the room, her parents were at the end of the lengthy red and gold carpet that led straight to their thrones at the head of the room. They looked upset and Emma inwardly smirked.

She hoped they were furious about the swan. Her outburst might have been childish, but she felt at least slightly better to get some of her own anger out of her system. Yelling at her parents just didn’t seem to be enough. It never really had been since no matter how loud she became, her parents still never seemed to hear her. Even after all the time spent at Regina’s palace, nothing had changed with her parents. Outwardly, she shouted and threw things, but under the surface she was deeply hurt they made no effort to understand her, to know what she wanted and why, to believe she could make her own decisions and handle any repercussions, to believe she had found love with Regina that was requited without magical assistance.

“Let our guests into the palace,” Charming instructed the two guards at the door while Emma was walked by her personal guard for the day to her throne beside Snow.

The throne room doors remained opened while the other guards headed toward the main palace entrance. Emma took her seat and the guard assumed his place off to the side and a few steps behind her throne to ensure the family was the main focus of the meeting called to order.

In no time at all, the people her parents ruled over started to file into the wide room to hear the good news most of them saw for themselves as soon as they walked into the room. There were wide eyes and gasps upon entry and the children in attendance tugged on pant legs and skirts before they whispered loudly and pointed to their princess. After everyone was settled into the room, a hush fell over the crowd as they waited for the royal family to speak.

Snow didn’t make them wait long.

“It is with great pleasure that we announce the return of our daughter,” Snow told the room full of constituents from her throne. “We spent many nights and nearly as many days worrying about her. I’m sure news spread about her whereabouts and we would like to ease any fears and put to rest any rumors that stray from the facts of Princess Emma’s capture.”

“It is true that the Evil Queen held her prisoner,” Charming continued for Snow. “When we went to get her back, there was a barrier in place that slowed our progress. But last night we prevailed.”

People cheered and clapped and all of them smiled at Charming, Snow, and always lastly at Emma. She wanted to tell them how she pleased the Queen countless times to the point of ecstasy she doubted most of them, if any at all, had ever felt. She wanted to use that information to make them leave and wipe those pathetic smiles off of their faces, but one misstep and she feared further loss of connection from Regina. It wasn’t time yet. She had to be patient and allow the debauchery of their happiness at the sacrifice of her own to continue.

“The Evil Queen kept our daughter from us as a way to punish me, and while we’ve exhausted ourselves in more ways than one trying to get her back,” Snow added, “she is finally here once again. Our daughter returns to the palace with a change in attitude and wants nothing more than to be the princess we’ve always known her capable to be.”

Emma struggled with the urge to roll her eyes. It took a lot of self-control, but she managed to keep her expression neutral before she dutifully flashed their audience a reassuring smile.

Most of those in the room, including her parents, smiled back before their subjects bowed and curtsied to her.

A handful of couples, of high stature like Emma’s family based on their attire, started to leave. One of the men among them stopped the Huntsman in the back of the room and leaned in to tell him something only the Huntsman was privy to hear. From there, the man left and the Huntsman approached Charming.

“There are some people here for you to discuss a few things involving the announcement, your Majesty,” the Huntsman said.

“Thank you, Huntsman,” Charming politely said and then passed the information along to Snow.

The royal couple asked to hear a few complaints from any one in dire need of assistance with something and a few stepped up to explain recent, problematic circumstances not yet solved due to Emma’s capture. Snow and Charming listened and offered solutions then excused the people and themselves and went off to have another discussion with the other royals who’d left the throne room earlier.

The Huntsman approached Emma, but the blonde quickly fled the room and started to head back to her chamber to see if she could contact Regina. The guard started to follow, but he bumped into another guard on his hasty exit of the throne room.

Emma heard voices from the hall beside the staircase and instantly detoured from her chamber to find out who the voices belonged to and to learn the subject of the discussion. She followed the voices to a single room and leaned in close to the partially cracked open door where she could see her parents with the others who had left court early.

“We want nothing more than to move past the recent horror that plagues our family,” Snow said. “The Evil Queen has been after me for some time and she made it clear very early on in our daughter’s life that she would stop at nothing to steal her away to spite me.”

“The Evil Queen holds Snow responsible for taking away the thing she loved most so she saw it fit to try and take away what we love most,” Charming added.

One of the other men in the room laughed.

“The _Evil Queen_ once loved something? I find _that_ hard to believe,” the strange man said.

“There have been rumors she’s…turned the princess,” the woman, presumably the man’s wife, mentioned.

“Oh gods, no. No. Emma has thankfully been left untouched by her darkness.”

“So she’s as virtuous as the day she was taken away by that whore,” the man asked.

Emma set her jaw and grinded her teeth, her fists clenched tightly at her sides as she tried to contain herself and refrain from barging in to defend Regina.

“And she’s still interested in _proper_ suitors,” the man continued his line of questioning.

Nervous smiles appeared on Snow and Charming’s faces. The King and Queen were tense and obviously uncomfortable, but they seemed to hide it well enough when they finally replied, “Yes.”

“She is ready to return to her old life just as she’s returned to the palace,” Snow assured the other two.

“Locked away with the Evil Queen has made her more than grateful to be back where she belongs and with whom she should be spending her time with,” Charming confirmed.

Snow cringed.

“Good, good. I, for one, am glad to hear the good news. Some of us have been talking and we were concerned about the princess’ intentions upon this wonderful return of hers,” one of the other men said. “She was not particularly interested in the way of the kingdom before that witch stole her away and we want to be certain she will take this and our sons seriously this time around.”

“We don’t want to waste our time,” one of the other women spoke up. “She may find someone else if she so chooses, but we would like to know if it is even worth sending our sons to court her.”

“It is rather late for her to still not have a husband,” the first man to have asked about Emma noted. “And after this debacle with _Her_ , people will talk soon enough. If a merger is to happen between any of our families, we want what was originally promised, what is _always_ promised when trying to arrange a union.”

“Yes, we understand your concern,” Snow hurriedly jumped in, seemingly afraid she had started to lose control of the room. “We assure you it is not a waste of time. Our daughter will consider your sons. No guarantees can made as to her choice, but she will see them and she will come to a conclusion about who she wants.”

Charming nodded in agreement.

“We hope for your sake that is true,” one of the men threatened before the group started to take their leave.

Emma threw herself away from the door in a rush so as not to be seen and when she spun toward the stairs, she ran right into her guard for the day.

“I was just going to my chamber,” Emma told him.

He hummed in a way that sounded like he didn’t believe her and then walked with her back to her chamber.

Once she was guarded, trapped, within the walls of a chamber she didn’t want, she thoughtlessly touched her necklace and fell flat on the bed with defeat. The necklace warmed to her touch and Emma looked down at it before she realized what she had started. Her eyes then darted to the mirror and within seconds, the image began to swirl. The mirror revealed Regina’s bedchamber, _their_ bedchamber as Emma liked to call it since Regina’s bed was already both hers and Regina’s anyway, but Regina wasn’t at the mirror. It took a few seconds, but suddenly Regina walked in front of the mirror. Almost as soon as Regina walked into frame and smiles appeared on both her face and Emma’s at the sight of each other, Charming and Snow knocked on Emma’s door.

Both women panicked, but Emma was the first to frown at the thought of having to break the visual connection with Regina just to talk to her ridiculous parents that probably just wanted to punish her for the figurine.

She wasn’t exactly wrong on that front.

Regina disappeared from the mirror right as her parents walked in and Emma sighed.

“Thankfully you didn’t manage to screw up the announcement in the throne room,” Charming somewhat complimented her ability to fake her way through court. “On the other hand, you threw a tantrum and broke something extremely important to us, to _you_.”

“Keep your wrecked token of love. It’s as broken as I feel.”

“You are not _broken_ ,” Snow firmly insisted. “You are being unreasonably difficult. I will not stand for this, Emma. I understand there are things that you feel and things that happened while you were away, but you will not behave like this.”

“What are you going to do if I don’t change my behavior,” Emma stoked the fire. “You’ve already locked me up, forbid me to be with my love.”

Snow put some thought into that while Charming yelled, “Straighten up because we didn’t have to be so kind and forgiving about what we saw last night.”

Emma scoffed and rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth to even the score of their argument when Snow stopped her words and her heart with an incentive to do as they said.

“We will lock Regina in our dungeon.”

Emma’s eyes widened as she shot up and sat on the edge of her bed. Everything in the room grew deathly still before her entire world started to spin out of control before her eyes.

“You wouldn’t. That is _insane_. You can’t lock her up.”

“She’s committed more than enough crimes against this family and she has ruined you,” Snow stated with cold, calculating eyes. “We have not killed her, but for all she has done we can easily make the rest of her life hell.”

“I’ll never let you get away with this. You won’t touch her! I’ve told you before and I will remind you as many times as needed she is not to be harmed in _any_ way.”

“Then you should listen to your father and I and correct this disobedience of yours immediately,” Snow replied. “In two days your suitors will arrive. We will allow them to stay here for the duration of their courtships with you and you will eventually make a decision.”

Emma fought off the tears that threatened to bubble up to the surface. She would not let her parents see her cry. They went too far and she vowed in that moment to never show them weakness again if she could help it.

“If there is anyone you meet during the next few weeks that isn’t one of your suitors and if we approve of them, you do not have to choose a suitor,” Snow went on. “You can choose that person so long as it isn’t Regina. True love is hard to come by, Emma, and no matter what you think you have with her it isn’t love at all. …Do not force me to make this decision. Neither of us will like the outcome.”

“Why do you insist on doing this to me,” Emma asked as she tried and tried and tried to push down her tears and wavering voice.

“We only want what’s best for you and my _stepmother_ is _not_ it.”

“She isn’t your stepmother! She was only that in title, nothing more. She didn’t love you enough, didn’t care about you enough, to not want you dead for what you did. Do you ever think about what you cost people? Poor Queen Snow is always the victim and always has been. We’re getting sick of it,” Emma snapped. “You may have had to fight to keep Dad, but you still got what you wanted. You _always_ get what you want. You wanted Regina in your life and she was forced to marry your father. You wanted Dad and you fought for that right. You wanted me and you got me. But think about all the people you hurt in order to get those things.”

Snow actually seemed sad to hear the harsh truth, especially from her daughter. Charming took a quick step toward Emma and Snow blinked away the sadness. She was back to her regal tone of voice and body language.

“Do as we suggest and Regina will be left alone. You need to learn how to be happy. Without her.”

“Then I will never be happy,” Emma vowed.

“Two days,” Charming reminded her, his eyes focused and his tone one that left room for no argument. “We will see you at supper. Leave the attitude behind and start acting like a princess.”

With those final words, her parents left and Emma waited until she heard footsteps on the stairs before she growled out and punched her pillow several times out of frustration.

Regina appeared in the mirror again when Emma turned away from the headboard of her bed and toward the window, but Emma held a finger up to her own lips to silence the other woman.

Emma pointed at the door as she crossed the room to the mirror then quietly said, “The guard is right outside. I don’t want him to hear us.”

Regina nodded and reached through the mirror, her hand open and waiting.

Emma relaxed and placed a hand in Regina’s. The brunette gave it a squeeze and Emma finally let the tears fall.

While they had time before Emma had to leave for supper, not a word was spoken. Regina knew nothing of what all had happened that caused Emma to cry, but she spent their time together watching her beloved quietly weep over the day’s events. She didn’t need to know the details, just needed to know Emma was hurting. So they held hands and Regina whispered assurances to her, said “I love you” over and over, until Emma was called down for dinner.

“I’ll be here when you get back,” Regina promised again.

When she did get back, Emma wasn’t any happier. Dinner had been quiet and the blonde ate only about as much breakfast as she’d had that morning, which wasn’t much at all. With the sun already on its descent behind the horizon, Emma plopped down in front of her mirror and touched her necklace. She then reached out and touched the mirror as well and only seconds later Regina appeared.

The brunette didn’t smile when she appeared. Her expression seemed neutral, ready to listen to whatever Emma had to tell her. As soon as she saw the blonde with a frown and glimmer-less eyes, she scooted forward in her seat to get as close to Emma as possible given the mirror between them.

“The suitors are coming here in two days,” Emma said, her voice hoarse from disuse and the pain she felt.

“They aren’t giving you much time to adjust to any of this, are they,” Regina phrased it like a question, but said it as a statement.

Regina sounded just as upset as Emma looked. Maybe even more so.

“She and my father are letting them stay here until I pick someone, someone that is _not_ you,” Emma told her. “The funny thing is, my mother was the one who insisted all of this today, but she was the one asking a lot of questions about you and me last night without judgment.”

Regina shifted back in her chair a bit and her eyes widened, surprised to hear any of that information.

“Your mother… She wasn’t outraged to know about us,” Regina asked.

“At first she wasn’t thrilled,” Emma answered, “but the more I tried to explain it to her and my father it seemed she was maybe starting to understand.”

“That…does not sound like your mother. She hates me. She would never understand. She would only think I did this because of her. She even accused me of it just after you helped put up the barrier.”

“And yet, she seems to be the only one on our side. Or at least she was until this morning.”

“The only one? Who else aside from your parents would be a problem?”

“The Huntsman,” Emma bitterly replied.

“What?”

Regina’s eyes were wide and fiery. She looked beyond pissed.

“He’s the one that helped my parents ‘rescue me’ from you. He’s staying here now. I saw him after breakfast and yelled at him for what he did to us.”

“That would explain his absence here.”

“He has his heart back.”

Direct hit. Air flew out of Regina’s lungs in an instant and she was stunned into silence. She no longer even blinked, her eyes frozen wide open.

“Apparently my parents helped him get it back when they stormed in and took me back,” Emma elaborated.

Regina puffed out her next breath and moved closer to the mirror.

“No matter. He can have his heart and he can stay with your parents. I only want you,” Regina told her.

Emma smiled, but it wavered and she dropped her head to look down at the vanity desk.

Regina sighed, sad to see Emma so hurt.

“If it makes you feel even a _little_ better, I think your mother is only being hard on you now because she knows if she doesn’t step in, your father might do something you and her don’t want to see happen,” Regina said.

Emma groaned.

“It doesn’t make me feel better,” Emma confessed.

Regina frowned and Emma apologetically looked at the brunette.

“It does,” Emma corrected. “It means something to me that she might be looking out for you, and for us, but the only thing that will truly make me feel better is them letting me go so I can be with you.”

“Soon enough,” Regina promised. “I have to believe we will be happy and together again soon enough.”

“Look who’s the optimist now,” Emma gradually started to smirk and chuckled under her breath.

Regina smiled and laughed.

“You seem to have rubbed off on me in the time we spent together.”

Emma’s smirk widened and a familiar light returned to beautiful green eyes.

While the sun set that evening, things might not have seemed as bright as they could have been and once were, but with Regina at least in some way by her side Emma found that she actually did feel a little better. It wasn’t perfect and it wasn’t exactly what she wanted, but Emma let Regina carry the hope of their proper reunion while she instead put her belief in the woman she loved.

Emma might have found a way for her and Regina to see each other while they were separated, but Emma had a gut feeling Regina would be the one to fix the bigger issue. Somehow, some way Regina would make it all right and Emma would do everything she could to assist. Nothing would keep them apart. They _would_ be together. Soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the happiest of chapters, I know, but with time there will be a happy ending for these two. Let me know what you think. :)


	18. Chapter 18

Forced back into court, Emma sat rigidly on her throne as she listened to the problems of the kingdom. She didn’t mind listening. The problem Emma had was with her parents and what was to happen after all issues for the day were heard and everyone but the royal family was dismissed. Then the suitors would start to trickle into the palace and all would stand before Emma with smiles or smirks or whatever bravado they wore on the surface like armor. The only thing that made the last two days the slightest bit bearable was Regina.

While Regina insisted they do as Emma’s parents asked for the time being, Emma continued to whisper her arguments through the mirror that she wanted to be whisked away and damn her parents and what they wanted. It was her life and she should be able to do whatever she wanted, especially at her age. Regina then reminded her life as a princess meant she had to act a certain way, had to play along once she was captured. Funny how she stopped thinking of herself at Regina’s palace as captured and quickly applied the word to her new home life back with her parents.

They fought their urges to poof to each other in case someone caught either of them, because there would be hell to pay if anyone found out that they could even see each other during their separation. Emma physically stayed away as best and as long as she could because she didn’t want her parents to imprison Regina and Regina physically kept her distance to the best of her abilities because she didn’t want Emma to suffer further as the Blue Fairy suggested would happen should she push Snow and Charming.

Emma sighed as her parents heard the last of the news and complaints for the day and she watched with dead eyes as the throne room was cleared out, soon to be replaced with people she loathed the idea of seeing let alone courting. There was a brief pause in everything, however, while the other guests exited the palace. Apparently her parents were fine to whore their daughter out to any man willing to travel their way, but they still wanted to maintain some kind of discretion at that point.

Awkward, extremely uncomfortable silence filled the throne room as Snow, Charming, and Emma sat still and said nothing. Not a word was exchanged to one person or the other while they waited for the suitors to file in and while Emma didn’t want to talk to her parents at all, she really didn’t like the silence any better. It was troubling, in fact. She at least expected her parents to say something to each other, to mutter nonsense about how they hoped there were a decent number of men ready to line up and start a courtship with their daughter. Even a small part of Emma expected them to discuss people they suspected would be in attendance or even ask each other if the guest chambers were made up for the suitors yet, and ask whether the other thought they had made enough available. But there was still only silence and that was all there was until the throne room doors opened again and a herald announced the suitors’ arrival.

“Your Majesties and your Highness,” he started, “May I present to you six worthy suitors looking for a chance to gain Princess Emma’s hand.”

Emma took a deep breath and tried not to flee.

“Sir Eric Tessleman,” the herald continued to announce and a sandy blonde haired man in uniform who looked at least a few years older than Emma walked into the throne room.

Tessleman bowed in front of the dais then turned and stood at attention a few steps back.

“Lord Johnathan Hensen.”

A dark haired viscount around Emma’s age entered and followed the exact greeting as the knight that came before him. He bowed and stood beside the knight like a gentlemen, his hands at his sides while the knight’s were clasped together in front of his lap.

“The Duke of Ellis.”

A man with salt and pepper hair, but a flat stomach and somewhat ruggedly handsome features, had a smile on his face as he entered. He wasn’t much younger than her own parents by the look of it and as he bowed he said, “Your Highness.” When he straightened up again he looked from Snow to Charming and gave a nod before he properly greeted them with, “Your Majesties.” He was the first to have spoken to any of them and Emma noticed her parents were practically smitten with him. Of course they were. The Duke was probably their friend and only there to do them a favor while he was also in need of a new wife.

“Commander Jackson Smith.”

Another dark haired man approached. Again, another man just a tiny bit older than Emma.

“Prince Aaron Ansley.”

Emma didn’t have to see his face before she reacted. She knew that name. She knew that man. He was close to her age and he liked to think he was entitled to her, or to women in general. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the ends of her armrests on her throne. She swallowed bile as it threatened to make her lurch forward in her seat and put on a disgusting show.

The man had more straw-colored hair compared to Emma’s golden blonde and he was slightly fit, not a lot of muscle but rarely any fat either. His cheekbones weren’t strongly defined, but his cheeks weren’t incredibly round or pudgy. Physically he was a good match, but was otherwise a terrible option. Given his behavior and his attitude toward women, it should have come as no surprise he hadn’t yet married. She had just hoped that someone else would have the misfortune of being bound to him in matrimony before she had to endure even another meeting with him.

“And Prince Alroy O’Brien.”

Prince Aaron continued to leer at Emma as he took a moment too long to stand in front of the dais before he moved to line up next to the other men while the final suitor, a redheaded prince with a very Irish name, strode into the room as oblivious to Prince Aaron’s lecherous scrutiny as her own parents. Emma looked away from him to see the other prince and she politely smiled as he approached. He smiled back and looked calm, collected, and well-poised. He was around Emma’s age from what she could tell and he seemed to know his way around the court, but he didn’t come off as pompous. In fact, he looked like a nice and kind gentlemen that treated everyone with an equal amount of respect. He also seemed quite possibility the type to avoid war if necessary. After he bowed, he shuffled to the next free space beside one of the other suitors.

Emma didn’t mind him so much, but if he really was nice and kind then she felt sorry for him because it was a waste of time for him to try to win her heart. Someone else already had it and she wasn’t there among any of them.

“Thank you all for coming,” Snow said from her throne with a smile and she gave small nods of acknowledgement to each of the men. “We have made space available to you here at our palace and welcome you all to make yourselves comfortable while you are with us. We hope our accommodations are up to each of your standards. My husband and I greatly appreciate your presence.”

The herald excused himself and the guards posted at the throne room doors closed off the room. Emma was stuck in a room with her parents and handful of men who wanted to get their hands on her and the key to the kingdom. What she wouldn’t give to disappear into the sunset with Regina right then.

“We will give you some time to make yourselves comfortable in the guest chambers,” Charming told them. “Then we will all gather for a group dinner and get to know a little bit more about each other.”

“We have come up with a schedule for each of you,” Snow spoke again. “It dictates who will spend what time and when with our daughter for the first days as you try to get better acquainted. Once everyone feels a little more relaxed given the circumstances, there will be a competition between all of you to prove yourselves worthy of the princess.”

“The competition will include exercises in bravery, strength, and endurance,” Charming further explained. “The top three contenders will then answer a few questions for my family. If you are not one of the contenders at that point, you will be dismissed, free to return to your homes and find someone more suitable for you.”

“If you please allow our pageboys to escort you to your chambers,” Snow motioned to the doors of the throne room and two page boys sidled up in front of them. “May the best man earn the honor of marrying our beloved daughter.”

The guards opened the doors behind the pageboys and each pageboy ushered a group of three suitors out of the throne room before they led the groups to the grand staircase. They all went upstairs and once again Emma was alone with her parents, who immediately let out long exhales when everyone else had gone.

“Well, they all seem lovely,” Snow said and plastered a forced smile across her face. “Don’t you think?”

Snow looked from Charming to Emma and Emma glared at her. Charming gave Emma a strict look that said not to have an outburst and to keep all negative thoughts to herself. Emma huffed.

“I would like to be excused,” Emma said as she looked away from her parents and faced forward in her seat.

“You may go up to your chamber until dinner,” Charming curtly informed her.

“Great,” Emma dryly replied and pushed off her throne. She left the room and went straight to her chamber. When she was alone behind her closed bedchamber door, she sighed and her body nearly crumpled under the pressure of her defeat.

She brought a hand up to her chest and touched her necklace. After a moment, it started to heat her skin before she heard a faint tinkling sound followed by a windy swirl. She opened her eyes and looked straight at the mirror to see Regina waiting for her on the other side of the glass.

She sighed again, that time out of relief, and smiled as she crossed the room and sat in front of the vanity.

Regina smiled back at her for a moment and when it faded she turned serious, but her voice was calm and warm. Regardless of the subject matter of their conversation, Regina’s tone soothed her.

“Nothing too upsetting has happened yet, has it,” Regina asked.

Emma shook her head.

“Thankfully not yet. They all just arrived. Although…”

“Although?”

“One of them is… I unfortunately already know him.”

Regina’s expression turned grim.

“It’s that horrendous prince, isn’t it,” she rhetorically asked, because clearly she already knew the answer.

“Yes,” Emma confirmed. “Along with five other men, he is indeed one of my suitors.”

Regina scoffed.

“Your parents really are idiots. You need to tell them, Emma.”

“You think I haven’t tried before? I tried _many_ times before. I told you that.”

“Yes, I know that and I know that he bothers you and what he tried to do to you, but they still don’t know. The longer they remain ignorant and oblivious, the more you’ll be hurt. I don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I already am,” Emma frowned.

“And you think it isn’t already killing me?”

“Then let me come to you.”

Regina took a deep breath and thought things through for a moment.

“How long will you be alone,” Regina asked.

“Until dinner. I think I have an hour.”

“And your guard?”

“He didn’t follow me up, but I’m sure he’ll be stationed at the door soon.”

“Keep your voice down,” Regina warned before she disappeared in a puff of purple.

A second later, Emma felt a presence behind her as the image of Regina’s chamber in the mirror faded to reveal the normally reflective surface. She caught Regina in the reflection as she stood between Emma and the blonde’s bed. The princess immediately perked up and spun around as she shot out of her chair and rushed to Regina.

She wrapped her arms around the brunette and squeezed with all her strength then breathed in Regina’s spicy sweet scent as she buried her face in the other woman’s neck.

“You’re here,” she quietly, breathily said into Regina’s smooth skin.

Regina wrapped her arms around Emma’s waist and returned the warmth and love of the embrace Emma initiated, just not as tightly.

“I can’t do this often, Emma,” Regina explained.

“I know,” Emma replied.

“The more I come here, the more chances we have of being caught. The same goes for you coming to me. We will have to keep these kinds of visits limited.”

Emma finally pulled out of the hug and nodded.

“As long as you do this however often we get the opportunity without raising suspicion,” Emma said.

“That I can do,” Regina smiled at her again and guided Emma over to her bed. “May we lock the door?”

“Yes, please,” Emma said with excitedly wide eyes as she somewhat enthusiastically bobbed her head up and down.

Regina chuckled and raised her hand up to eye level before she flicked her wrist. The lock clicked and they were sealed off from the rest of the palace as they sat on the edge of Emma’s bed together, close enough that their legs touched.

“It’s been less than a week since they took me from you,” Emma said, “and yet I’ve missed you so much.”

“You see me every day,” Regina pointed out.

“It’s better than not seeing you at all, but it’s not the same and I think you know that.”

“Indeed I do,” Regina said and ran her hand through silky blonde tresses.

Emma leaned over and rested her head on Regina’s shoulder.

“Will you hold me as long as you can be here?”

“Of course.” Regina moved her hand from Emma’s hair to wrap her arm around Emma’s waist again and rest that hand on Emma’s outer thigh.

“I just want all of this to be over,” Emma confessed.

“I know, dear.” Regina kissed the top of her head.

“They told me I didn’t have to pick any of the suitors, but even if I met someone else I actually could see myself even being friends with, I wouldn’t choose them either. They aren’t you. None of them are you.”

“I think that is exactly your parents’ point.”

“I know it is, but it isn’t a good one. I never sought out a prince or knight or princess or lady for so long because I wasn’t interested in love or relationships. A part of me already felt taken even though I never understood it.”

“For many years I felt much the same,” Regina admitted. “Of course it was a longing and emptiness that I felt, knowing you were out there and feeling this pull toward a girl I shouldn’t have liked even the slightest bit. Of course, I didn’t realize I had an _actual_ pull to you. Magnetic and magical. That was just unbelievable to me when I figured it out.”

Emma lightly laughed then lifted her head off Regina’s shoulder. She wiggled around and tried to lay back on the bed. Regina hesitated while she tried to understand what Emma was doing and once she did, she moved with the princess to lay down on the small bed. There was plenty of space for both of them on the bed, but it certainly wasn’t as big as their bed at Regina’s palace.

Regina draped an arm over Emma and the blonde scooted back so her butt was snuggly pressed up against Regina’s lap. Regina smirked and kissed the crook of Emma’s neck through a few blonde strands of hair. She received a content hum in response.

“Every day should end like this,” Emma said.

“It should,” Regina agreed.

“And we should always be in _our_ bed back home.”

The arm Regina had draped over Emma twitched at those words and for a moment jerked Emma even closer to her.

“Home,” Regina breathed out with reverence and longing.

“Of course, when we finally figure out a way to be together again I’m going to insist we work on the décor. It is far too dark in there. I love black, but I want to see other colors.”

Regina laughed then leaned in and kissed Emma’s neck again before she nuzzled her nose against the younger woman’s skin.

Emma giggled and squirmed in response to Regina’s nuzzling.

“Ticklish there, my love,” Regina asked before she pushed onto one of her elbows and leaned over Emma’s side to use her fingers to tickle various places along the blonde’s body, and she started with her neck.

Emma laughed again as Regina’s fingers moved along the most sensitive places on her body that had nothing to do with sex. She rolled back and forth on her side as she tried to wriggle away from Regina’s touch, but the brunette didn’t let up.

“Regina,” she laughed as she curled up, tensed, and tried again and again to roll away from torturous fingers.

Regina laughed along with her as she watched Emma squirm and thrash around beneath her. She continued to tickle Emma for another moment before she finally pulled her hand away and placed both of them on the bed on either side of Emma’s body as she hovered over the princess with a large smile on her face.

Emma turned her head and looked up at Regina. She didn’t smile back because when she locked eyes with the brunette, she felt a particular intimacy wash over her. It sparked a heat in her though the intimacy wasn’t entirely related to anything sexual. It was just that they were so close and in her bed and had already, in some small way, overcome her parents’ unfair ruling to keep them apart. Physically they were close, emotionally they were close, and magically they were close thanks to the enchanted necklace Emma refused to take off since Regina had given it to her.

Regina’s smile faded as she quickly felt the intensity build between them. She inhaled and due to the otherwise silent room, it sounded like a gasp. They had only gone two days without physical contact not including hand holding through the mirror. It shouldn’t have affected them as greatly as it did in that moment to be in the same room again, but they had gotten used to always being together and always touching, even in the simplest and most innocent of ways.

Emma lifted her head off the pillow and moved up to close the distance between their mouths. Regina leaned in and met her halfway. Their lips pressed together in a slow and sensual kiss that quickly escalated to heated kisses, and more of them.

Emma rolled onto her back and Regina lowered herself almost completely on top of the blonde as they continued to kiss as though their survival depended on it. As Regina’s tongue slid into her mouth, Emma tried her best to stifle a moan and was only slightly successful. She quietly moaned in response to the way Regina used her tongue to explore her mouth with proficiency and purpose as though she knew all the right places to slip and slide against that drove the princess insane in the best way possible.

Regina placed a hand on Emma’s hip and gently squeezed every time she felt Emma’s tongue flick against her mouth and tongue.

Emma cupped a hand on the back of Regina’s neck and arched her back so their breasts and stomachs brushed.

Regina softly hummed at the additional contact.

Emma grabbed the hand on her hip and guided it down her thigh before she used it to bunch up the skirt of her dress. She brought both of their hands back up toward her waist and exposed her legs and a small flash of her underwear. She somewhat gracefully repositioned herself beneath Regina and slipped a thigh between Regina’s legs.

Regina pleasurably groaned as she felt hot, bare skin under her dress as it connected with her covered center. She tightened her grip on Emma’s dress even as the younger woman kept her hand placed over top of it. She whimpered as Emma moved the leg between her own legs the tiniest bit and created a blissful friction, but a second later she broke away from the kiss and panted against Emma’s lips and chin.

“We shouldn’t,” Regina resisted her urge to continue.

“I want you to,” Emma encouraged her.

“The guard might hear us.”

“I can be quiet. Please, we don’t know when we’ll be able to do this again and I don’t want to face those suitors feeling so incredibly distant from you. I want to be able to remind myself that we still have this, we still have each other even though we have to be extra careful now.”

Regina looked Emma over for a moment, worry in her eyes as her expression alternated between one of concern and one of a desire to move forward.

Emma nodded like she knew Regina was silently asking for a second confirmation that she was absolutely sure what they were about to do was okay with her.

It wasn’t about Emma being a virgin, because she no longer was with Regina. It was that they only had so much time and they had to tamp down any sounds they wanted to let out as a verbal expression of their love and connection. She didn’t want it to have to be that way. She didn’t want to have to sneak around with Emma because the princess should have been with her in their palace, their _home_. And they should have been able to be as loud as they wanted. They should have been touching each other and making love because they couldn’t keep their hands to themselves and they wanted to show each other how much they loved each other in a very physical way again and again. The two of them in bed together should never be about the suitors Emma had to bear while they were in the palace due to her parents’ request.

“I love you,” Regina said with fierce adoration in her beautiful brown eyes. “That is what this is about, okay? We aren’t doing this because of those suitors. We are doing this to be close in a way we don’t know when we can be again.”

“I love you, too,” Emma replied. “And we’re seizing the opportunity to be together while we have it, to be close again while we can.”

“Promise me that how we are with each other, sex or no sex, it will always be about _us_ and no one else.” And that had more to do with Regina and her past experience than anything else, but Emma could have figured that out and didn’t need to know all the details. Especially not right then.

Emma nodded again and said, “What we have will stay between us in every way. Always.”

“Okay,” Regina barely said above a whisper, more to herself than to Emma. She looked into green eyes for another moment as time felt frozen and all movements had stopped, their bodies completely still although they remained pressed together.

A few voices filtered in from the hall and footsteps passed by, but as close as it all sounded it felt like worlds away to both of them.

Regina hiked up Emma’s dress a little further and fully exposed her underwear and hint of her lower stomach. She licked her lips and gazed lovingly at every inch of Emma, even the parts that remained covered for the time being. A moment later, she leaned in and kissed the blonde again before she slowly disentangled her hand from the other woman’s and slid it back down between them to finger the waistband of Emma’s underwear.

Emma’s breath hitched mid-kiss and the hand she’d previously had on Regina’s hand went to the other woman’s bicep. She gripped Regina’s upper arm as she felt it flex beneath her while the woman teased her and her fingertips skimmed the inside of her panty line.

“Regina,” she begged.

The brunette got a better grip on Emma’s underwear and tugged it down her legs while Emma brought her hips off the bed to assist with the removal. She dropped the article of clothing onto the floor right next to the bed so it wasn’t far if Emma needed to redress in a hurry. As soon as she revealed Emma’s sex, Regina’s eyes landed only the newly exposed part of the princess’ body. She stared at it hungrily and watched Emma squirm yet again under her sweltering gaze.

“Absolutely breathtaking, my love,” Regina complimented her. “Would you…would you allow me to try something?”

“I trust you,” Emma reminded her. “If I get uncomfortable, I’ll let you know.”

“Good,” Regina briefly smiled then ran her hands up and down Emma’s sides a few times.

After she ran her hands up Emma’s sides for a third time, she reached around over the blonde’s dress and dipped her hands between the woman’s back and the bed. Emma lifted herself off the bed just enough for Regina to have full access to the laces that fastened her dress together. She made quick work of them without appearing desperate and soon peeled the top half of the dress down her chest and torso. The dress bunched at Emma’s hips for a moment before Regina slid down the bed a little and balanced herself completely on her knees. It only took a moment for Regina to strip Emma bare and she tossed the dress onto the floor beside the princess’ underwear.

“Shoes?” Emma mentioned before Regina went any further.

Regina smiled at her and took Emma’s heels off for her. Then she reached behind herself and loosened the laces on her own bodice before she pulled it down her body. The top half folded over at her waist and she crawled off the bed for a second as she pushed the dress the rest of the way down to the floor, her underwear pushed down in the process as well, to land in a heap on top of Emma’s clothes. She raised a leg and placed her foot on the very edge of the bed before she leaned over and undid the strap on her own shoe then repeated the action with the other foot. She continued to stand beside the bed for an additional moment when she saw Emma’s eyes appreciating the view.

“What do you want to try,” Emma asked as her eyes scanned from Regina’s legs up to her dark eyes.

Regina put one knee on the bed then leaned over and crawled back into her previous position almost entirely between Emma’s legs.

“Something you tried to do once,” Regina answered. “Although, if you get too responsive I might have pull back a little. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“I really wanted to hear you the first time we tried this, though,” Regina confessed with a frown.

“We don’t have to do it right now,” Emma said. “Save it for an extra special occasion.”

Regina thought it through for a moment before she shook her head.

“Next time. The next time we do this you and I will able to be as loud as we want. I don’t want to wait for this.”

“Okay,” Emma repeated, but that time she gave Regina a reassuring smile.

Regina set her hands on Emma’s ankles then slowly slid them higher up Emma’s legs. She grazed over Emma’s shins and calves, her knees and the inner part of her thighs just above her knees. She leaned forward on the bed, closer to Emma, the farther up the woman’s legs her hands traveled and she felt Emma writhe under her touch.

Regina’s hands wandered far, so far, up the blonde’s thighs and the sides of her index fingers brushed against Emma’s folds.

Emma’s hips bucked toward Regina’s hands and she gasped as her fists closed around the bed sheets.

Regina drew her hands back and ran them back down toward Emma’s knees as she leaned forward more and laid herself flat on her stomach on the bed. She moved her hands along the backs of Emma’s thighs and spread the younger woman’s legs a little wider as she slithered further between them. Her hands danced along Emma’s skin from the backs of her thighs to her outer thighs before Regina wrapped her arms around the tops of the other woman’s thighs to loosely hold her in place.

Regina turned her head and started to leave a trail of kisses—first, innocent pecks and then wet, lingering ones—along one of Emma’s inner thighs.

Emma’s chest heaved and she almost squeaked in surprise when Regina kissed close enough for her brunette hair, mostly pulled back though some remained down past her shoulders, to lightly tickle the younger woman’s exposed sex.

Regina turned her head again and kissed her way down Emma’s other thigh. When she reached Emma’s knee, she began to kiss her way back up and finally remained right in front of Emma’s center. She watched Emma twitch and clench every time her breath hit the princess directly between her thighs.

“Oh,” Emma quietly moaned, “Regina.”

The sound made Regina melt, and also wet. She closed her eyes as they rolled back in her head then moaned when she licked the length of Emma’s slit from bottom to top. She only briefly pressed the tip of her tongue to Emma’s clit and she heard as well as felt the struggle within the blonde to fight off the presumably loud moan she wanted to release.

“Regina,” she whimpered. “Please.”

Regina flicked and swirled her tongue against Emma’s clit then dragged it down between her folds again. She licked Emma like her lover’s sex was a spoon with her favorite dessert nestled within the scoop of the utensil.

Emma bucked and rolled her hips and before either of them knew it she practically riding Regina’s face as she arched her lower body off the bed.

Regina was sure it was odd to feel the way she did in that moment, but she was proud. She could tell Emma was excited and well stimulated, but the princess kept it together so no one outside the chamber was any the wiser of their current activity.

When Emma’s legs started to clamp around her head, Regina slid her tongue down to Emma’s entrance and slipped it inside of her.

Emma heavily panted and clawed at Regina’s hair and scalp within seconds.

“Oh gods,” Emma loudly whispered.

Regina felt Emma’s walls tighten around her tongue so she pulled it out and darted it back inside the woman at a semi-rapid pace like she was tonguing the notes to a melodic symphony on a wind instrument. And the sounds she imagined Emma making in her head if she could have made such noises out loud mixed with the ones Emma allowed herself to make considering their current quiet rule were glorious.

“Regina,” Emma whisper-whimpered. “Oh gods, Regina!”

Regina replaced her tongue with one finger and began to pump at the same pace she’d set with her tongue while she flicked her tongue over Emma’s clit.

“I can’t- I can’t- Keep quiet,” Emma quietly said with a very noticeably strained voice.

Regina teased Emma’s clit with her tongue over and over again while she pumped in and out, in and out, and then carefully, swiftly, added a second finger.

“Uhn,” Emma choked back a half-whimper, half-cry.

Regina pulled away from Emma’s clit as she slid her free hand up Emma’s body and placed it over the blonde’s mouth.

“You’re almost there,” Regina began to encourage her. “Stay with me. Just a little longer. You can keep quiet just a little longer. Hmm?”

Emma nodded and breathed heavily against Regina’s hand.

Regina hesitated a moment before she moved her hand from Emma’s mouth down to one of the blonde’s breasts and gently tweaked her nipple. An “nnh” escaped Emma and she thrust her entire body at Regina, her breast pushed up further into Regina’s hand and her sex further against Regina’s mouth and other hand.

Regina lightly nipped Emma’s folds and momentarily avoided Emma’s clit before she licked and then sucked the bundle of nerves into her mouth. She tried not to slurp at the blonde’s wetness, but with Emma’s slightly erratic movements it was hard not to.

Above her, Regina heard Emma take in short and shuddered gasps before the younger woman’s body convulsed then tensed for a suspended moment in time. Emma quaked above and around Regina a second later and the brunette stilled her fingers inside the other woman while she also slowed her tongue’s movements. Another moment later and Emma collapsed onto the bed with a loud sigh that broke off into a scratchy whimper.

Regina lapped up Emma’s wetness as she removed her fingers from the woman before she moved back up her body. She smiled at the beautiful, and just as beautifully spent, woman beneath her before she leaned in and kissed Emma.

Emma tasted herself on Regina’s lips and tongue and went limp, one hundred percent boneless, beneath Regina.

“That was…incredible,” Emma breathily said just above a whisper when they ended the kiss.

Regina softly chuckled and rested her forehead against Emma’s.

“It was fantastic,” Regina commented.

Emma lifted her head off the pillow and swiped her tongue over Regina’s chin as she kissed the olive skin were evidence of her arousal and release still showed.

“You missed a spot,” Emma explained when she pulled back and let her head fall onto the pillow again.

“Oh,” Regina smiled again then laughed a little.

“I am going to be way too tired at dinner,” Emma confessed. “But it was definitely worth it. It’s alwaysworth it.”

Regina bit her bottom lip even as she smiled. She gazed down at Emma for another moment before she maneuvered herself over Emma’s right leg and rolled onto her side next to the princess.

“Wait,” Emma pouted. “What about you?”

Regina shook her head as she wrapped an arm around Emma’s waist and pulled herself flat against the other woman’s back, both of them still completely naked.

“Don’t worry about it, my love. You should get a little rest before dinner,” Regina told her.

“That isn’t fair.”

“I don’t mind.”

“But I do. Regina,” Emma almost whined and then pouted again. “You didn’t just get naked with me to cuddle after pleasing me.”

“You’re right,” Regina said. “I got naked to be as physically close to you and as unrestricted as possible. And now we can _cuddle_ naked, too.”

Emma sighed, but smiled up at Regina.

“Fine,” Emma conceded to Regina’s wishes before she turned onto her side.

Regina readjusted them and ensured they were flat against each other again. She kissed Emma’s cheek and then her neck before she rested her chin in the crook of the younger woman’s neck.

“If you fall asleep, I’ll wake you when people sound close outside,” Regina said.

“Okay,” Emma sleepily said as her eyes already started to flutter closed.

Regina pulled the covers over them and gave Emma some time to rest while she watched over the sleeping blonde and held her close.

In what felt like no time at all, she heard several voices talk loudly in the vicinity of Emma’s chamber. She sensed from the sound of their voices that they weren’t actually right outside, but there seemed to be a gathering of people in the hall in the same wing of the palace as Emma’s chamber.

“Emma,” she whispered into the blonde’s ear. “Time to get up, love.”

Emma groaned and said, “Stay.”

“I wish I could, but we’ve both got to go. I’ll be with you again soon. Now get up,” she calmly tried to coax the younger woman out of her slumber and subsequent haze.

Emma groaned again and whined as she slowly, very slowly, started to move. She sat up and rubbed her eyes before she looked at Regina and frowned.

“One day we won’t have to leave bed after we make love,” Emma said. “After _both_ of us are satisfied.”

“Oh, Emma, I’m satisfied just to be here with you.”

“Un-uh,” Emma shook her head. “That’s a lie. My presence cannot satisfy those kinds of needs.”

Regina sighed, sitting up beside Emma at that point, and wrapped an arm around the other woman. She curled into the blonde’s side and rested her forehead against Emma’s temple.

“Well, I owed you one,” Regina teased with a smile that barely contained the laughter the brunette held within. “More than one, actually. I think I still owe you one or two more before we’re even.”

“Tell me you aren’t keeping score.”

“I’m not,” Regina lightly laughed the words.

“I hate not taking care of you,” Emma said. “I want to do that for you.”

“I know, and I love it when you do. You know that. We didn’t have the time and you needed more attention this time.”

“Will you take care of yourself,” Emma asked, her voice as small as she looked in that moment.

“It wouldn’t be the same, so no. I’ll wait.”

“Oh, great. Waiting for me again? That _really_ isn’t fair to you.”

“Emma,” Regina more sternly, but still sweetly, started to say. “I’m fine and I can wait. It won’t be too long at the rate we’re going anyway, so don’t worry.”

Emma flashed a quick smile before her expression returned to a frown, still sad to have to say goodbye to Regina for the moment.

“You should get dressed,” Regina said before she kissed Emma’s temple.

“I love you.”

Regina smiled wider and kissed Emma on the lips.

“I love you,” Regina replied with a voice like warm honey then stood and grabbed her clothes. She looked at her dress and let out a short burst of quieted laughter. “What am I thinking?”

Regina flicked her wrist and both she and Emma were redressed with their hair no longer mused.

“There. That will save you the trouble,” Regina said as she turned to Emma once again. “See you soon, my love.”

Regina leaned in and kissed Emma again, but made it last just a little bit longer than the last one.

Emma smiled at her, even though part of her wanted to cry because Regina had to leave, and watched the brunette disappear in a cloud of purple smoke. She relaxed her smile and she immediately looked downtrodden.

* * *

When Regina returned to her dreary and entirely too quiet palace, she sighed and dejectedly plopped down on the edge of her bed. It had been a rough couple of days as she tried to avoid doing what she just had. To visit Emma through magical means aside from the use of the mirror wasn’t just to keep them from getting caught, it was also to keep Regina from tearing herself apart further. Every goodbye exchanged, even when they only communicated in the mirror, sent a sharp pain through her heart.

She reveled in what they had done in Emma’s bed, but it was a bittersweet experience. So much pleasure and happiness in the moment and then it was time for them to separate. She had to find a way to get Emma back, for good. She couldn’t do anything drastic like attack Emma’s parents. Emma hated them just as much as she loved them at that point so finally killing them was out of the question, had been ever since she started to fall for the blonde.

There had to be another way. Death or injury wouldn’t work and while Regina loved the idea of just whisking Emma away again, she wasn’t sure it would work a second time. The barrier had fallen before, seemingly when Emma was most vulnerable, but maybe if she made her own barrier without Emma’s magic…

Then they would just be in the same situation they’d been in before: with Snow and Charming trying to infiltrate Regina’s palace by any means necessary and she would probably be put to death. She didn’t want Emma to suffer through that loss. The Enchanted Forest seemed like the last place either of them should be if they still expected a future together, which they definitely still did, but Regina wasn’t willing to pay the price for a curse like the Dark Curse anymore. Maybe if she found a portal. Jefferson knew stuff about that, but of course he was trapped in Wonderland with her mother. She really needed to stop burning bridges.

She sighed again and decided to do something else to help clear her mind before she got back to brainstorming about what she could do to be with Emma on their own terms. As she thought about it right then, the only options that seemed viable involved the two of them running off somewhere and never looking back. But they’d made a home in Regina’s palace. Regina didn’t want to lose that. At least not until they made a second home elsewhere first.

She hadn’t left her palace since Snow and Charming took Emma away, but Regina needed to go out. She had to stretch her legs, go for a walk. She was also a little sexually frustrated so the walk would satisfy a few needs. If Emma needed her, she would feel it and could be in front of her mirror in the blink of an eye. So she went to the one place she knew she would be welcome and had people she could talk to about her situation. Maybe they had more helpful solutions.

* * *

Emma tried not to look as bored, tired, and sad as she felt. She probably should have listened to Regina when the brunette tried to stop them from having sex. She probably knew it would hurt too much once they had to part ways and if that was true, Regina was definitely right. It devastated her. But only after the fact, because in the moment it was… She’d said it before. It was incredible. She tried to focus on that part, on that moment of bliss where it was the two of them in the world and no one else. As she replayed the events in her mind, a smile slowly spread across her face and she blushed as pink as the morning sunrise.

“Emma?”

Emma’s smile vanished in an instant and the blush quickly began to fade as she looked up to see her parents smile at her from their places at the either end of the dining room table. She slipped on a mask of indifference.

“Yes?”

“Is there something on your mind,” Snow asked.

“Nothing that concerns you,” Emma simply said, her voice devoid of any disdain or rage.

Snow and Charming’s smiles disappeared almost as quickly as Emma’s had even with the blonde’s less than hostile tone. _Good_ , Emma thought with an internal, spiteful smirk.

A moment later, her parents turned their attention to the suitors and asked them each a few questions to learn about where they came from. Emma didn’t bother to tune in. She occasionally looked up from her food and glanced at whoever spoke in a lame attempt to feign even a semblance of interest.

At one very unfortunate point when she looked up, however, she caught Prince Aaron staring at her. As soon as they made eye contact, he grinned like he already had her in his bed, victorious as he got what he wanted from her like she was the kind of woman he thought her to be; and that was: one that would even flirt with him let alone sleep with him, which she certainly was not.

She rolled her eyes and looked away. She was at a table surrounded by other people and while she didn’t appreciate his watchful gaze, she didn’t feel sick or threatened by him in that moment. It only ever worried her when they were alone together, because then he was a wild card. One minute he would seem like a perfect gentlemen and the next he went in for a kiss expecting much more as its result. Of course, Emma no longer believed him to be a perfect gentlemen. She knew better after the first time he ever tried anything and she never let herself forget when she was stuck with him any time after that, which was at least two more times since his attack that she was thankfully able to stop. That time. She wasn’t sure she’d be lucky enough a second time.

Emma sighed and started to play with her food while she remained completely out of it in the present. She instead decided to remember Regina and how she looked, how she felt, when they were together. She remembered sunsets and sex and the simple act of just sharing a bed together. She remembered the first few nights she spent at Regina’s palace, how she’d been locked in a cage. But she also remembered how Regina could hardly stay away from her either. After their first fight when they used magic as a weapon, Emma had been exhausted yet restless and Regina hadn’t let her out of the cage, but the brunette locked herself in the cage with her. The other woman transferred energy to her and then stayed with her all night on the floor inside a cage when she had a bed to sleep in and the least about of help she could have provided had already been given.

Those thoughts made the next uneventful hour at the dinner table at least a little bearable and those thoughts were what helped her fall back asleep that night, her hand on her necklace as it emanated a familiar warmth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little smut to hold you over. Hopefully it satisfied. Let me know what you think.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short chapter and there isn't much action, but I wanted to show how Regina handles things when she's away from Emma in this chapter. And I ended it where I did because it was the best place to break between this chapter and the next. I hope you like it. I hope everyone reading this enjoys it.

She tucked her necklace underneath her dress for the day. A group breakfast was in order first and foremost and while Emma was hungry, she didn't look forward to the sit down with all those men and her infuriating parents. After the sure to be awful meal, the schedule would be announced and Emma would be forced to spend alone time with her suitors.

She chose the most prudish dress she had available to her and used it to not only keep eyes from wandering, but to hide the precious necklace from view. She didn't want the suitors, or more importantly her parents, to ask questions about it. It was a special gift from Regina and it connected them in ways Emma knew her parents would never be tied to each other. It was more than a symbol of Regina's love for her. It was a way to reach out to each other when needed and as she made her way out of her chamber and into the dining hall, she felt a little chill radiate in waves from the necklace.

She frowned and touched her chest through the fabric of her dress where it covered any cleavage she had to display. She'd always felt it warm up when she needed comfort, but in that moment it was cold. She also hadn't touched it to get Regina's attention so there was no need for Regina to send her magical comfort through the ring. Emma filed it away to ask Regina about the next time they spoke. Until then, she had food to eat and people to pretend to be interested in.

With a sigh and a bored expression she hoped would pass as sleepy, Emma headed downstairs to the dining room table where her parents were already seated while they awaited both their guests and their servers. She didn't smile at them. She barely even acknowledged their presence and they seemed to understand, but it still upset them. They thankfully kept their mouths shut on the subject that time, however, and it was quite possibly the only reason Emma had to be grateful for the suitors while they temporarily resided with them in the palace.

One of the servers for the morning came out of the kitchen and smiled at the royal family before she set down their drinks. Freshly squeezed orange juice from the orchard her parents kept maintained by the help farther outward from the palace but still within their property line before the woods. When the light auburn haired woman set her drink down in front of her and flashed another smile at the princess, Emma smiled back and politely spoke up.

"Would you mind terribly if I asked you for apple cider," Emma asked, but the server knew from a royal that it was a request.

"Anything you want, your Highness," she curtsied.

When Emma chanced a look at her parents, she internally reveled at their clenched fists and tight-lipped expressions. Again, they said nothing on the subject and Emma had to admit it was more fun when they didn't, or rather _couldn't_ , fight back. Her behavior was childish and petty, but sometimes it felt good to be bad, no matter how the small evil manifested itself. She suddenly realized she understood the appeal of Regina's attitude and actions prior to their relationship. She supposed it was, at that point, another thing they had in common.

The three of them sat in silence, but the only reason Emma even noticed the absence of conversation was because it was the first time in a long time she hadn't had to fight with or defend herself or Regina to her parents. There was no yelling. Everything was peaceful. Even if her parents sat and stewed about Emma's recent acts of defiance.

The apple cider took longer to prepare and serve, but Emma noted it was worth the wait over ten minutes later when she finally had something to sip on before their first course was served. Her mother glared at her while she took the first sip and hummed her satisfaction, but her father gaped at her with a wide-eyed expression to match the measure of his dropped jaw.

"Delicious," Emma said to the server. "Thank you."

Emma was sure that if Regina had given her an apple it would have been much sweeter, juicer, and altogether of higher quality, but Emma was thrilled to have anything that both reminded her of her love and also enraged her parents as she taunted them with it.

She took bigger and bigger sips of her cider, more and more frequently as the suitors started to file in with smiles and feigned honorable intentions. Some of them might not have been faked, but she knew for certain Prince Aaron didn't care about her and he didn't have an honorable bone in his body.

He was, of course, the first to arrive for breakfast out of all the suitors. Her parents beamed at him like he was a kind and loving man they would only be so lucky to pair up with her daughter. Next to arrive was the Duke and Emma had to admit that he seemed nice. He looked like a gentleman. It gave Emma hope that maybe she wouldn't hate spending time with him, even if he was a little older than she preferred and was close to her parents. Only their time together would tell, though. She had to try her best not to dread those moments no matter which suitor she was with because it wouldn't do her any good. She was stuck going through the parade of men her parents had found for her. It was all she could do not to scream it was all pointless because she wouldn't pick a single one of them, but she held her tongue and toughened up.

It would all be over soon. Regina would rescue her and they would live happily ever after. _Far_ out of her parents' reach even if they remained in Regina's palace. She mindlessly toyed with the chain around her neck before she rested her hand over the necklace still hidden beneath the high-cut neckline of her dress. She had to have hope.

* * *

Regina gasped where she sat at the table and clutched her necklace for a moment as she felt a surge of heat burn around the ring that dangled between her breasts.

"Are you alright, dear," Erica asked as she pulled the kettle off the stove and looked at Regina with both concern and confusion.

Regina licked her lips and nodded as she overcame the sensation.

"It's Emma," she started to explain. "I told her to touch the necklace and I'd know when she was in trouble."

"Is she," Erica asked and swooped in to take the seat across from Regina at the table.

Erica immediately reached out and rested a hand on top of Regina's for support and waited until she received an answer. The Irish woman appeared ready and willing to go to war if it meant saving Emma from whatever danger she faced.

Regina shook her head.

"I don't think she realizes how much she puts into the connection," she elaborated. "She's not afraid or anxious or sad. She has been more often lately, but that's not what I'm feeling right now."

Erica furrowed her brow and leaned forward a little in her seat, the kettle forgotten on the stove as it slowly started to cool. 

"Then what is it?"

"Love. Longing. There's just so much of it."

Erica smiled and breathed out a quiet laugh of relief and amusement.

"Of course there is. It's easy to fall in love with you, dear, which is why it's also so hard to be away from you."

"She saw me before supper last night. It hasn't even been a full twenty-four hours!"

Erica laughed a little more, a little louder and richer.

"Weren't you just telling me only moments ago how hard it is to leave every time you see her?"

She sighed and nodded.

"And you don't think she feels the very same?"

She sadly looked up at Erica and pouted her bottom lip like a child on the verge of tears.

"She may love me, but there is _no_ way she can love me as much as I love her."

"Why do you think that?"

"She lights up the darkest parts of me. She's both strong and precious and makes me better. She makes me _want_ to be better. And who am I? What do I give her?"

"A voice and an ear and the ability to be as she chooses to be. She's free with you, Regina. And you listen to her. You're always there for her, without judgement or question. You give her the kind of affection and attention she's always needed and never really received. You have no idea just how special you are, do you? You never have."

" _I'm_ the reason she's in so much pain. It's my past with her parents that keeps her from me, someone she's so in love with she's constantly reaching out to me for every little thing in the short time we've been forced apart."

"No," Erica vehemently and sternly stated. "It isn't your fault at all. You aren't keeping her from the woman she loves. You give her everything you can and there's nothing wrong with that. Your history with her parents shouldn't matter. If her parents truly understood what it is you two have then they would see that the three of you only want what's best for her and what will make her happy."

"Because of the things I've done they don't believe I'm capable of being what she needs or able to make her happy."

"If they can't see she's only miserable when she's not with you then they're bigger idiots than I thought."

Regina laughed through the tears that had started to brim in her eyes and she turned her hand over to give Erica's a squeeze. Erica chuckled with her for a moment.

"There's that beautiful smile," Erica said, her eyes locked on Regina's.

Regina shook her head and chuckled again through her tears, her voice as watery as her eyes.

Erica leaned forward even more and then stood up. She stretched herself across the table and gave Regina a quick kiss to the top of her head. Regina bowed her head and closed her eyes in response to the affectionate gesture. Truth be told, Erica always felt more like a mother to her than Cora ever did. And Cora may not have ever treated her right, but Regina still loved her. She also loved Erica, too.

“Thank you for letting me come here and for letting me go on about all of this,” Regina said.

“Any time,” Erica replied with a bright smile. “Now, what was it you were saying about suitors?”

Regina’s face fell and she clenched her fists tightly on top of the table.

“Her dense parents would rather force a group of men on her than allow her to be happy simply because they don’t think she’s truly happy with me. At least not without me casting a spell on her.”

Erica sympathetically looked at her and frowned before she soothingly ran her fingers through Regina’s dark hair. Her nails gently scraped against the back of the younger woman’s head before her fingers glided down the length of Regina’s unrestrained, long hair.

“She’s miserable and it’s my fault,” Regina repeated her earlier thoughts.

“Are you the one forcing her to court those men,” Erica asked.

“No. Of course not! Even if she didn’t want to be with me, I would never do that to her.”

“Exactly,” Erica pointed out. “You’ve done some things in the past to make her parents distrusting, but that’s the past. They need to open their eyes and see what I see. You two bring out the best in each other and you make each other happier than I’ve ever seen anyone look. Ever.”

Regina briefly smiled at the sentiment, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. She was too caught up in self-loathing and blaming herself for Emma’s misfortune.

“She’ll drown,” Regina quietly blurted out.

“What do you mean?”

“If she’s forced to choose one of them…she’ll drown. Like I did. She has magic and a lot of anger and sadness. Like I did. Who’s to say she won’t darken her heart like I have? She doesn’t know it yet, but she can quickly become a threat, a _danger_ , to her parents. If I can’t stop them from pushing these suitors on her, she could hurt and destroy everyone and everything in her path. What would stop her?”

“You,” Erica firmly said and took hold of Regina’s chin before she made the brunette look up at her. “You’ll stop her. No one knows what struggles she’ll face if she tries to take that path better than you do. And you love her.”

“With all my heart,” Regina replied even though it was never a question, even from Erica.

“I know you, Regina. You would never let her do anything like what you’ve done. Even if you’re still furious with her parents and would enjoy their suffering, you would never let their anguish happen at Emma’s expense. And we _both_ know that.”

Erica released her grip on Regina’s chin and watched as Regina continued down the road of her unhelpful thoughts.

“I can’t stop her. Not when I can’t even save her from this farce her parents are throwing at her. What am I doing, Erica? I’m just sitting here! I have all this magic and I’m upset for her and yet, all I do is wait around for Emma to be able to contact me and tell me about everything that happened while we were apart. I should be doing more!”

“You’re doing what you can,” Erica argued.

“It’s not good enough,” Regina insisted.

“Then what would be good enough?”

Regina heavily sighed and her shoulders slumped with the effort.

“I don’t know,” she confessed, defeated. “I don’t know what to do.”

Erica gently grabbed her wrists and carefully tugged her onto her feet. She pulled Regina into a hug and wrapped her arms around the brunette.

Regina gave the other woman a light squeeze and rested her chin on Erica’s shoulder. She sighed and closed her eyes while she took comfort in the embrace and continued to struggle to find a way to help Emma.

She didn’t realize it, but her magic flowed into her necklace the more she thought about Emma. The sadder her thoughts, the colder the temperature of the necklace that received her magical presence. And the longer she thought about Emma and all the ways she was failing the blonde, the sadder and colder her magic connected the two of them with their enchanted jewelry.

* * *

Thankfully, Emma was permitted to stay in the same outfit all day and didn’t have to change. She liked the outfit she wore because it covered most of her body. She wasn’t a piece of meat or a prized possession to be won. Her parents didn’t seem to understand that, but Regina certainly did. Not a prize, but a gift. That was how Regina had put it.

As nice as most of the suitors might have proved themselves to be the better she got to know them, she doubted any of them saw her and appreciated her the way Regina did. Regina understood her and loved her and while they’d sort of rushed into their relationship, they’d certainly come a long way from masked make out sessions and caged sleeping arrangements. The fact that they had should have been proof enough that no spell was needed or cast and that Regina didn’t care about vengeance anymore. It wasn’t as if Emma could show her parents those moments and how she and Regina had changed together, but Regina’s attitude and behavior should have been example enough.

She stared off into the distance through a window as she sat in one of the parlors her family’s palace had to offer with the first suitor of the day. She was with the man that had been in uniform when they met. He wasn’t boring, but she already knew he wasn’t who she wanted. He had nothing to offer her except friendship, but none of the suitors wanted that from her. They all wanted more, so much more than she was willing to offer, because they were all there trying to win her hand.

"What is it you like to do for entertainment," Sir Eric asked.

It took Emma a moment to bring herself back into the present, but thankfully she'd heard and understood the question. Her immediate answer was Regina, but that was her secret to keep.

"I like sitting outside, enjoying the fresh air and going for walks."

The truth was, she didn't have to go for a walk to enjoy nature and fresh air. All she had to do was step out onto Regina's balcony and she would smile. It was better when the sun set and it was better when Regina was there when they soaked up the beauty of a day winding down, but those were things she wanted to keep to herself. She didn't have to refrain from mentioning her fondness for the colors of sunset, but it was something she shared with Regina if she didn't revel in the pinks and reds in the sky by herself.

"What are some of your hobbies," she asked, only to avoid being rude by not engaging in a two-sided conversation.

"Being a naval officer, I've become accustomed to voyages and the rock of a ship as we set sail for a new port or an attack to protect the royals such as yourself. Although I do wish I had more time just to bask in the sounds of the sea. I don't get to relax much during our journeys, but give me a day when I'm not working and I would love to take a dingy out on the water. Perhaps maybe someday with you, your Highness."

Emma forced a warm and polite smile, but underneath her mask she concealed her strong dislike for waves and ships and the overpowering smell of saltwater. She was fine to sit on the shore and listen to the sound of the ocean, wiggle her toes in the sand, and tuck her hair behind her ears when the breeze whipped it back and forth across her face. However, she was less than fine to board a ship of any size because she didn't like the unsteadiness of the capsule and she wasn't a fan of the sea creatures below the water's surface.

Emma's smile faded the longer she thought about how much she and Sir Eric differed. The most important way was that he was a man and she was not. Eventually he noticed her lack of interest when she failed to even look at him despite the sound of his voice as it carried across the table. She wasn't sure how long he'd been speaking to her, but he briefly flashed her a smile when he waved his hand in front of her and finally caught her attention again.

"Did I lose you somewhere, your Highness?"

There was a hint of laughter in his voice and she was grateful that at least he could make light of the situation. He seemed to be understanding, but Emma was sure that it would only last for so long. It was her duty to at least pretend her suitors had a chance with her. It would be bad for the kingdom if she tried to turn them all away after they so graciously agreed to be hosted by her family to compete for her hand. Her parents would also look bad and they would certainly be outraged as well. They had, after all, convinced most of the suitors' families that Emma was worth the trouble and someone would be chosen by the end of the competition.

"I apologize. My mind was lost at sea," she joked, and he chuckled.

At least she thought quickly enough on her feet to keep herself in the good graces of the first out of six suitors. It gave her hope that maybe, at least initially, she could keep up the charade. She didn't really care about her parents' image, but it was best not to fight what was already set in motion. She had to keep holding out for Regina to swoop in and save the day because she certainly didn't have any ideas yet on how to save herself.

* * *

Regina decided that after an hour of conversation with Erica about recent events she needed to do something productive. She spent another hour or so going around the village to tend to any needs to be met and people who asked for help. Most of the villagers were calm and didn’t need much, but she bustled around from homes to the marketplace to a nearby section of woods where people cut firewood for the cold nights or a celebration like the one they had the other night.

It wasn't much, but she kept herself busy throughout the day. On occasion, she felt the necklace heat her skin. She took the time to calm Emma. Most of the time the emotions projected through the necklace were unease and upset. It didn't help divert her attention from the younger woman and when she had to comfort Emma from their distance, she desperately craved to see the blonde. She needed to check on her, more than any magical bond through a piece of jewelry could provide a connection between them.

She made her way back toward Erica's cabin and ran into Adele as she hung up laundry to dry on the line. She saw Adele, but she was ready to brush past the nineteen year old. Her mind was on Emma and she was two seconds away from forcing Erica to keep her still. She knew if Emma truly needed her, she would have felt panic and urgency in the necklace—which she hadn't felt at all. She knew she just needed to breathe and talk about something with Erica, maybe _anything_ other than Emma.

On her way to the front door, however, Adele must have seen her distress because the young woman was quick to leave their clothes and fall into step with Regina as she reached the front step.

"Is everything alright? You look troubled," Adele said, worry clear in her big eyes and sad frown.

"It's Emma. I'm wrapped up in my concern for her though I know she's alright and not in any danger."

"My mother told me you two were forced apart. It was such a shame after how close you seemed at the festival."

A familiar blush swept across Adele's cheeks and Regina remembered how the girl had looked much the same by the fire when Emma let things get more physical than they ever had before between them. Seeing the blush again made Regina grin and momentarily distracted her from her desire to rush to Emma's side and possibly ruin everything before she had a chance to salvage their future together.

"My dear girl, are you curious about just how close we _are_ ," Regina teasingly purred her question.

"You better watch what you teach my daughter," Erica interrupted from the doorway.

Both Regina and Adele looked at the older woman and saw the Irish woman smirk, her arms folded over her chest.

Regina rolled her eyes and explained herself.

"Don't worry. I wasn't going to lay out the _graphic_ details," she said with a devilish glimmer in her eyes.

"I'm sure you weren't. She's much too young," Erica added.

"I'm not," Adele quickly insisted. "If I were royalty I'd be wed by now. I think I've earned the right to know _some_ things, Mother."

Regina chuckled and commented, "Feisty. I like it."

Adele beamed to hear the praise and another blush, a cute and less embarrassed blush, appeared on her face.

"Are there things you would like to know," Regina gently asked.

Adele shifted from foot to foot and looked from Regina to Erica before she averted her gaze. She cast her eyes down and nodded, a little afraid if not uncomfortable with the admission.

Regina tucked a finger under Adele's chin and carefully forced the girl to look up at her again.

"There's no need to be ashamed," Regina told her with a soothing voice. "Would you like to know about romance in general or about Emma and I?"

"B-b-both?"

Adele looked frightened by her own thoughts. She shook in front of Regina and cut quick glances to Erica as she frowned and tensed, caught between the two women as she struggled to talk about the sensitive subject.

"Would you rather the two of us talk alone," Regina asked and looked over at Erica for confirmation that she could take Adele somewhere and have that kind of conversation.

Erica nodded her consent and warmly smiled at Regina.

Regina turned to Adele again and watched the younger woman give Erica another look before she quietly answered, "Yes."

"Okay. Why don't we go to one of the hills past the marketplace? It's a beautiful view from there this time of day and you'll keep my mind off of Emma," Regina brightly smiled at Adele who thankfully smiled back.

Regina placed a hand between Adele's shoulder blades and gently guided her forward, off toward the hills. She gave Erica one last look over her shoulder before she and Adele disappeared from the main village area.

Regina waited as they passed through the woods until she and Adele were out of earshot of anyone chopping down trees or making firewood from already fallen logs before she spoke with the girl again. They climbed up toward one of the hilltops closest to the village as not to stray too far from home and when Adele straggled behind during the steep endeavor, Regina reached out and took the younger woman's hand. She lightly tugged Adele the rest of the way up the hill and sighed with relief when both of them firmly stood atop the open space.

Regina motioned to the ground and Adele was the first to sit down in the warm grass, heated by the sun’s rays. Immediately, the teen balled up her fists and picked at the blades of grass. It was a nervous habit she'd never seen anyone exhibit before, but Regina certainly knew nervous habits when she saw them whether for the first time or not. She gracefully sank down into the grass beside Adele and placed her hand on top of Adele's wrist.

"You don't need to worry so much," Regina reassuringly smiled at her.

Adele looked up at her with even wider eyes, unsure and inquiring.

"Whatever questions you have are normal," Regina further explained.

"Did-Did _you_ ever have questions?"

"Of course," Regina chuckled.

"What about Emma?"

"She didn't have as many questions as she did unspoken curiosity."

Adele furrowed her brow, confused.

"She didn't ask a lot of questions. She asked if she was doing the right thing many times, but she never really asked why or how she felt the way she does. But she's also a bit older than you and she may have had those questions earlier, before she and I were ever together."

"Oh," Adele said and nodded her understanding.

"What is it you want to talk about? Are you curious about Emma and me? About our relationship? Or do you have a crush on someone and you don't have anyone to talk to?"

Regina smirked at Adele and bumped her shoulder in good fun as they continued down that particular path of conversation.

Adele finally smiled for the first time since they brought up the girl's new feelings and it was a beautiful smile at that.

"Maybe I do have a crush," Adele quietly admitted.

"Oh my," Regina continued to tease. "Who is it? Do I know them?"

"Actually, I have _two_ crushes and I'm not sure you know them."

"Tell me," Regina urged with a friendly tone and expression.

Adele softly giggled.

"There's a boy. Ethan."

"Ethan," Regina repeated the name, almost fondly. "That's a good name. Is he strong or a completely loveable sweetheart?"

"A little of both," Adele said with a smile so big it made her cheeks turn pink and then red. "He works with the crops so he does a lot of heavy lifting during deliveries, but he's very nice. He's not much of a smooth-talker."

"Oh, good. The smoother the talk, the slimier the snake."

Adele laughed a little.

"So he's a farmhand," Regina said and used the statement to guide Adele into further discussion about the boy.

"Yes. He's funny and goofy and incredibly clumsy," Adele beamed as she talked about Ethan. "He's a dream."

"And yet...there's also someone else," Regina hinted at the next crush Adele had yet to mention.

The girl bit her bottom lip and nodded. Her smile spread and due to its growth she was forced to release her lip.

"What about them," Regina gently pried.

Adele's cheeks were a bright and rosy red before she corrected Regina.

"Her. There's this girl..."

As Adele trailed off, hesitant to divulge all her news and feelings at once, Regina gasped and her lips curled into a wide smile.

"She's outgoing and tough," Adele informed her. "I doubt she'd truly give me much thought in a million years."

"Have you even talked to her?"

"All the time. We're...well, I _hope_ we're friends. I think we are."

"Oh? And how do you know she doesn't already spend her time thinking about you?"

"Because we're both _girls_ ," Adele replied like the answer was obvious.

"That doesn't stop Emma and me from being together or from thinking about each other."

"But you didn't start out as friends. Did you?"

Regina shook her head and said, "Sadly not."

"Taylor wouldn't be interested in me. We're too close. And she teases me about how much I like Ethan. She laughs and makes jokes, but not in a mean way. It's playful, but it just proves that she wouldn't think of me that way. She compliments my taste in men because he's so handsome yet humble. She lists all his best qualities and occasionally says that if she were me she'd go after him."

"Friends can joke like that. You also said that you're attracted to both of them so maybe she's also attracted to men and women."

"Can that happen? Can you like both?"

" _You_ like both, don't you? Of course it's possible!"

"But...maybe that's only me?"

Regina shook her head.

"It's not. Emma may be my love now, but I had a first."

"Really?"

"Mhmm. _His_ name was Daniel. It's a long story, but a piece of my heart will always hold him dear to me."

"But everything you have, everything you _do_ , with Emma... How?"

Regina laughed.

"How do I do things with Emma or how is it possible for me to love them both?"

"The last one."

"Because I don't amount a person to their physicality. I find happiness and pleasure in the one I'm with no matter what form they take, man or woman. There are also some men I find appalling and there are some women I wouldn't do more than hug. It's all about the person beneath the aesthetics.”

Adele quietly sat there and bobbed her head up and down every so often as she absorbed the information like a sponge.

"You may like both Ethan and Taylor for different reasons and maybe some of the reasons, like their personality traits, overlap," Regina continued. "At the end of the day, you just have to decide who makes you smile more, who makes you want to be a better person, who inspires you, and who will cherish you and be there for you."

"But...how will I know?"

"By getting to know both of them more. Spend more time with them, talk with them more. Don't put any pressure on where things _might_ go with them. Just enjoy their company and figure out who you'd want to spend even _more_ time with."

"And then I pick one?"

"Not necessarily. You don't have to have your mind made up this instant. That's the good thing about not being royalty. You don't have to be forced into anything. If you find yourself wanting to spend a _lot_ more time with Ethan, do it. If you want to be around Taylor more, test the waters with her. After some time if you lose interest in whoever you chose or you feel that the two of you work better as friends, nothing is holding you back from picking the other one. Or even someone else if there's another person that should come into your life."

"I hope not," Adele slumped forward a little bit. "It's hard enough picking between the two of them!"

Regina chuckled.

"Some days will be harder than others, just as some choices in your life will be harder than others. The most important thing for you to do right now is to find what makes you happy. And that doesn't even have to be another person. It could be a hobby or sport, like I enjoy riding horses."

Adele briefly looked down before she nodded and then looked up at Regina again and smiled.

"Okay. So I don't have to choose right now and it _is_ possible to be attracted to and to care for both of them."

Regina smiled back and nodded her confirmation.

"Well, that answers a _few_ of my questions."

"I knew there would be more," Regina lightly joked.

Adele chuckled out of slight embarrassment.

“What do you want to know,” Regina asked.

“How…how it works.”

“How what works, dear?”

“Kissing. And the other stuff,” Adele shyly answered.

“Well, kissing is…it’s hard to explain. It’s more of a ‘figure it out as you go along’ sort of thing. And…the other stuff. That’s more of an experience than a lesson.”

“So…you share experiences with Emma?”

“Yes.”

“Does she already know how to…how to do things you like?”

“This is so much more than what you’ll be ready for with _either_ of your crushes,” Regina evaded the question.

“If something should happen between either of them and me, I don’t want to need advice first. I want to be ready.”

“You really should wait anyway.”

“Did you wait?”

“With who?”

“With your first love?”

Regina frowned.

“We never had the chance to do more than kiss. We kissed a lot, but that’s all we did physically.”

“And there was no one else? No one else you fell for after him?”

“Not until Emma.”

“Did you wait with Emma?”

“I…I wasn’t… When I met her, I wasn’t a…”

Regina was never so flustered or hesitant to speak freely about sexuality. She certainly hadn’t with Emma and she used her beauty as a weapon most times, a way to manipulate people with her looks like a slight of hand. To explain everything to Adele was different though. She didn’t want to share everything, but she did want to help Adele feel more comfortable with the subject.

“Oh,” Adele said after a moment and her eyes widened slightly. “Oh. Right. Not…chaste.”

Regina forced a tense smile and nodded. The smile disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared.

“But you said there was no one you loved between the time you were with Daniel and now with Emma.”

“Yes, there was no one I loved.”

More understanding washed over Adele’s features.

“You didn’t…you didn’t love the person you were with when you…? Then…why tell _me_ to wait?”

“I was royalty,” Regina started to explain. “I didn’t have a choice in who I was with after Daniel was gone. I didn’t love the man I was paired with and he couldn’t love me. You know why they call me a queen’s title, don’t you?”

“Mother doesn’t like to talk about it and I’ve only ever known you as Regina.”

She smiled a more genuine smile that time.

“I won’t get into all the awful details, but I didn’t have a choice. I _wanted_ to wait. And I certainly _didn’t_ want my first time to be with the person that took my…virtue…but that was how it was.”

“Oh,” Adele sadly said and looked at the grass beneath her. “I’m sorry.”

“It… That happened so long ago,” Regina said in the hopes that she could somehow turn the conversation around again and perk up the younger woman. “The point is, whether it was forced or not, I wanted to wait and couldn’t so I know what it feels like to rush things.”

Adele nodded.

“But I waited with Emma. I may not have been inexperienced by the time we were together, but I didn’t let things completely escalate until she was ready. I didn’t want her to rush into something and regret it later.”

Adele slowly started to smile again.

“That is so romantic,” Adele gushed. “I hope I have that one day.”

“And you will,” Regina warmly said it like a promise. “Just be patient.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how long did you wait for her?”

Regina laughed, rich and melodious even as she tipped her head back.

“Oh, dear, I waited for Emma long before I waited for her to be ready.”

Adele crinkled her brow.

“It might not look like it, but she is _much_ younger than I am,” Regina explained. “She was only a babe when I first met her.”

Adele’s widened again out of surprise, but Regina saw no judgment on the younger woman’s face.

“Twenty-eight years, Adele,” continued. “That is how long I waited. That is how long I waited for her love.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: attempted rape/unwanted affection at the end of the chapter.

By the end of the day, Regina had managed not to worry about Emma so much. When the sun started to set, it was an entirely different story. Thankfully, Adele had decided they’d spent enough time on the hill and insisted supper needed to be made soon. Once that declaration was made they headed back to the cottage and Regina didn’t have to hurry them away from the beautiful sunset that she should have enjoyed with Emma.

The sky was still mostly a golden yellow fading into a pinkish orange when she returned to Erica’s home and while Regina wanted to offer assistance in the kitchen, she barely made it through the threshold before her chest burned from the necklace. She immediately gasped and clutched the necklace before she dashed into Erica’s room with a quick apology given to the other women and shut the door behind herself. She quickly looked around the room for a way to get in touch with Emma, but saw only a small mirror propped against the wall on an old, overused vanity. The intense heat of her necklace meant Emma needed her right away so Regina didn’t have time to make improvements. It would have to do. As long as she was able to see Emma.

Regina waved a hand in front of the mirror and Emma swirled into view. She immediately darted her eyes over every inch of visible skin to check for any harm done.

“Are you alright,” Regina asked in place of a proper greeting.

“Regina! Oh, I have needed to see you all day. I thought I’d die of boredom and disgust before I saw your face again,” Emma answered with relief.

Regina didn’t see any cuts, scrapes, or bruises and deemed Emma physically fine as far as she could tell. She relaxed a little and regulated her breathing, which she hadn’t realized had been so erratic with her worry for the blonde.

“No one has harmed you,” Regina asked just to be perfectly clear.

“No, no one has harmed me. The only assault I’ve suffered through today were long, disgusting looks from Prince Aaron when no one else was looking during our shared meals.”

“Why all the urgency then, my love,” Regina asked with a frown.

“It’s sunset and I missed you,” Emma replied with a soft, younger sounding voice. “Did I worry you?”

“Very much.”

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to do that. I didn’t realize how strongly you would feel me. I suppose I was a little aggressive.” Emma chuckled and the sound instantly defused any panic or tension between them.

“Oh, it’s only been a day, but my how I’ve missed your laugh. But…aren’t you worried about the guards hearing you?”

Emma smiled and shook her head.

“They’re on break. The Duke, my parents’ friend no less, mentioned how extensive the security around my room was and suggested the guards have some time to catch their breath and eat. They _have_ been working harder during their shifts today because of the added company and how frequently I’ve been moving place to place to accommodate everyone.”

“So you have time alone?”

“For now. My parents agreed to just less than an hour for the guards to rest before supper. Which means the next couple of days I’ll be able to watch the sunset with you and not have to whisper.”

Emma beamed for the first time since they’d been separated. Regina smiled back. A moment passed before Emma seemed to look around at Regina’s surroundings through the mirror and frowned.

“Where are you,” the blonde asked. “You aren’t at home.”

Regina’s smile widened at the word home and she shook her head. “I couldn’t stand being there without any longer. It killed me to be alone and I needed something to occupy my time until we spoke again before I went out of my mind.”

“Less than a week and this is already much too painful an experience,” Emma conceded.

Regina nodded.

“If…you’re not in the palace, where are you?”

“Regina, dear, are you okay,” Erica asked through the closed bedroom door.

Emma furrowed her brow.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she answered, and then an idea hit her. “I know you like to be alone with me at this time, but what about some additional friendly company?”

Regina picked up the portable mirror and went to the door. She opened it to reveal Adele at the stove as Erica made her way back toward the kitchen from outside her own room.

Erica and Adele turned to Regina, confused and curious, and then looked down to the mirror in her hands.

Regina smiled at the two of them before she looked at Emma again and smiled just a little bit brighter.

“I think Erica and Adele would love to see you,” Regina before she flipped the mirror around for the other two women to see.

Emma gasped and rested her hands on top of each other over her chest.

“Emma! Have you been eating well since we last saw you,” Erica asked. “Don’t let your current situation keep you from staying healthy.”

Emma chuckled and Regina rolled her eyes but continued to smile.

“Yes, I’m still eating, still healthy,” the princess answered.

Regina watched Erica and Adele relax as they smiled at the blonde in the mirror, happy just to look at her even though they also had the ability to talk. Her own smile widened at the sight.

“You both look gorgeous. I wish I was there with all of you,” Emma told them and Regina didn’t even have to look at the younger woman to know she displayed a glowing smile.

“We’d rather have you here as well,” Erica said and stepped up to the mirror. “Especially after you and Regina disappeared during the festival.”

Erica raised an eyebrow she directed first at Emma and then Regina. Regina took the opportunity to smirk before she turned the mirror to see Emma as well. She looked into the mirror in just enough time to catch Emma’s blush.

Regina sat down at the kitchen table and propped up the mirror so all three women could talk to Emma at once. As she adjusted the mirror’s position, she glanced up and saw Adele adopt a blush similar to Emma’s. She smiled at the girl.

“It was a tremendously memorable night,” Regina purred both to Adele as well as for Emma’s sake, although her eyes settled solely on Adele when she spoke. She stared through the mirror at Emma, however, after she’d made her point and winked at the blonde. She turned her smirk into a loving smile and felt a rush of warmth inside her chest when Emma easily and fondly smiled back.

Regina didn’t catch the way Erica looked between the two of them with a knowing smile and a content expression, but Erica was happy for the two of them. She was also sad they couldn’t be any closer than through a magically altered looking glass, but happy that they’d found each other and shared the realm-shattering love she witnessed every time they saw each other. It was the kind of bedtime story she wished she had been creative enough, or preferably more experienced with, to tell Adele as the girl grew up.

Erica lightly shook her head and rejoined the conversation as Regina stared and beamed with admiration and devotion at Emma while the younger woman talked directly to Adele. Erica wasn’t entirely sure what the girls were talking about, but she didn’t much care when it was clear to her that Regina—that her friend and near-daughter—was more interested in Emma’s face and voice more than the content of discussion.

“I’ll finish supper,” Erica announced and only then did the three other pairs of eyes in the room acknowledge her once again, but only for a moment.

Regina’s eyes lingered on Erica as the woman moved to the kitchen, but Erica held her gaze as the woman looked over her shoulder when she went back to the stove. She could tell the other woman had seen more than Regina usually shared with her words, even when opening up to someone as close to her as Erica. She pursed her lips and expressed her dislike for the scrutiny Erica had placed on her with a single look before Erica chuckled under her breath and finally turned to face the stove.

Emma and Adele had already reconvened their conversation while Regina’s silent exchange with Erica had occurred so when she looked through the mirror again she fell into the cadence of the blonde’s voice before she finally picked up on the topic of conversation. Within a few moments, Regina realized the two of them were talking about going to the market together the next time Emma had the chance to visit, which both younger women expressed they hoped would be soon. Regina smiled at both of them and nodded her agreement before she sat back in her seat and just listened to all the things Emma and Adele planned to do as soon as Emma was free from her new prison.

* * *

Adele knelt on the floor behind the arm of the couch in the cramped common room with her fingers in Regina’s hair. The brunette lay out on the couch with her long hair free and over the side of it while her head rested against the arm of the furniture. Adele twisted her fingers and Regina’s hair as she practiced braiding on the other woman who insisted it was the best way to learn how to do it herself. Regina had instructed her to braid it over and over again like she’d been shown and the older woman had encouraged her not to stop until she felt completely comfortable with the final result as well as the movement of her hands when they worked.

The floorboards creaked nearby behind her and Adele turned her head to find Erica smiling at the two of them. She flashed Erica a smile in response.

“I’m almost done,” she told Erica. “This will be the last one for today. I think I’m much better at this now.”

Erica’s smile grew with her words.

“That’s good,” Erica said. “One more go around with the braid and you should get ready for bed.”

Adele frowned and said, “But I’ll still have nearly a finger’s length of hair left to braid if I stop after only one more twist.”

Erica peeked over the side of the couch and chuckled at whatever she saw before she looked at Adele again. “Dear, in case you haven’t noticed your subject has been asleep for some time now. I don’t think she’ll mind if you stop a little short.”

Adele furrowed her brow and kept her fingers in place in Regina’s hair as she lifted herself up enough to look over the arm of the couch. Just as Erica had said, Regina’s eyes were closed and her chest rose and fell at a slow, even pace. The Queen looked relaxed, less stiff and worried, as she lay completely defenseless on the old, ratty furniture.

“Oh,” Adele said as she slumped back down and then twisted the three strands of Regina’s hair she held between her fingers one last time. She checked over the braid and noted the wisps that hadn’t completely tucked into the braid. Something she still needed to work on. Satisfied with knowing how to proceed the next time she practiced braiding, she released Regina’s hair and combed through it with her fingers so it was no longer braided.

When the braid was gone and all that remained were wavy brunette locks, Adele stood up and smiled down at Regina before she quietly said goodnight and headed toward her bedroom. As she walked away, Erica slowly approached the couch. She continued to smile with each small step she took forward and didn’t stop smiling until she tried to wake Regina.

“Up now, dear,” she softly said with a gentle shove of the other woman’s shoulder.

Regina faintly groaned and scrunched up her nose and brow with annoyance. She tried to make herself comfortable on the couch again, but Erica didn’t give her that chance.

“Regina, it’s time to get up.”

“Five more minutes,” Regina grumbled.

Erica laughed and said, “It’s late. Maybe you should stay the night.”

“Yes,” Regina quickly answered and rolled onto her side so her back was to Erica, her face almost pressed right up against the cushion.

“Oh, come now. The couch is no place for a queen to rest.”

“Not a queen,” she tiredly answered as her voice trailed off into a breathless whisper.

Erica could tell, knew from all the times Regina had spent in her company over the years, that the other woman was falling back to sleep.

“You may not be a queen anymore, but I care about you too much to let you sleep on this ol’ thing. Take my bed.”

It took a moment, but that seemed to wake Regina up enough to turn over and open her eyes.

“Where will you sleep?”

“Either with you or Adele. I don’t mind. Neither of you take up much space and neither of you kick, snore, or drool.”

Regina grunted and closed her eyes for a couple of seconds before she took a deep breath and made a dramatic effort to sit up. Erica held out both of her hands, which Regina took almost immediately, and helped the brunette stand.

“You’ll need a change of clothes. I still have a few things that might fit you,” Erica said as she helped guide a wobbly and half-asleep Regina into the bedroom.

Regina only hummed in response.

Erica smiled to herself and walked Regina over to her closet. She helped the woman select a simple nightgown to wear for the moment and then waited with her back turned as Regina sluggishly changed into it. When the brunette was done, she stumbled into Erica and placed a hand on Erica’s shoulder. She squeezed as she fought to keep herself upright long enough to reach the bed and Erica removed the hand from her shoulder to hold it as she led Regina to the Queen sized mattress.

“There you go,” she said as she eased Regina onto the bed and then pulled the sheets up to the other woman’s chest. “We’ll talk more in the morn.”

Erica walked over to the other side of the bed and settled in. A few minutes later, Regina rolled onto her side and faced her. She turned her head and noticed that Regina hadn’t just moved, but she’d also opened her eyes. She still looked very tired, but considering the amount of time she spent talking to Emma earlier in the day Erica understood. So she rolled onto her side and fully faced Regina as well, ready to talk before morning if Regina chose to spoke up. She did.

“It’s me,” Regina said with a low voice, raspy from sleep. “I might not have made the decision to keep Emma away from me, but if I was anyone else she wouldn’t have to suffer like she is.”

“We’ve already discussed this.”

Regina sighed. “I know, but…you have to admit this is in _some_ way _my_ fault. I just wish…”

“What? What could you possibly wish? Emma loves you because you are who you are. You love Emma for the same reason so tell me, what would change if you could? Because I don’t see any reason for you to think anything between the two of you should be different than what it is, aside from your situation that is.”

Regina rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. She licked her lips and didn’t make a move to look at Erica again.

“If I just wasn’t myself, if I was someone else I could just—”

Regina stopped herself mid-sentence and Erica watched realization flicker in brown eyes that almost weren’t even visible in the dark room.

 “That’s it,” Regina breathed out and sat up in bed. She turned and looked down at Erica as the Irish woman remained on her side. “If I was someone else.”

Erica frowned and slowly sat up to be eye level with Regina.

“Why would you want that? After I just said—” Regina didn’t let her finish what she had to say.

“A disguise. I have been wondering how I could possibly be as powerful as I am and still not be able to infiltrate the Charmings’ palace without getting myself killed. If I wasn’t myself, the two idiots wouldn’t know any better. I’d appear harmless and I could see Emma freely, away from the mirror.”

Erica’s lips curled into a bright smile before she said, “Now you’re thinking. Although it’s only a temporary solution.”

“It’s all I need. For now, it’s a way in and it’s enough.”

Erica nodded. “Okay. I support you. I’m with you on this, but promise me you’ll come back here before you go back to your palace.”

“I will.”

“And check in with a mirror every once in a while so I know you two are okay.”

Regina breathed out a small laugh and nodded before she wrapped her arms around Erica and hugged the woman.

“Tomorrow,” Regina said as she continued to hug Erica. “I’m going to see her tomorrow.”

Erica closed her eyes and relaxed as relief flooded her. She rubbed Regina’s back and gave the woman a squeeze before they separated and slid back down on the bed. Regina didn’t have a complete plan, but she had somewhere to begin. Erica was hopeful Regina would find a way around the Charmings’ rules without meeting her demise and she would do whatever she could to be there when that day finally came.

* * *

Regina awoke the next morning to any empty bed as the sun just barely peeked out over the horizon. She looked around the room and saw that it was as empty as the bed she rested in. She smelled food in the air though and quickly deduced she was only alone because Erica was in the kitchen. She got up and followed her nose to the source of the delicious scent and found Erica at the stove in the same sleep attire she had worn overnight. Her hair was messy and lazily swept off her shoulders in a ponytail as she cooked breakfast and her tired eyes told Regina she either hadn’t slept much or she hadn’t been awake much longer than her.

“Good morning,” she greeted the redhead and smiled when Erica met her gaze.

Erica smiled back before she flipped the food around in the pan and used the motion to gesture to what she was making as she spoke. “You’ll need your energy. Transformation spells take a bit of magic to keep up, don’t they?”

“Yes,” Regina answered and remembered the first time she’d talked about the cost of magic with Erica. Adele had been a tiny little thing and Erica had only heard stories of the Queen’s magic. That day, she’d seen it firsthand and wasn’t sure it was safe for Adele to be around so Regina talked through it with her to calm any doubts and fears. It had done just that and even after all that time, Erica still seemed to remember magic wasn’t easy despite how effortless Regina made it look.

Erica picked up a mug on the counter by the stove and set it down on the table before she went back to the stove. “Fresh tea. Not piping hot anymore, but still warm.”

Regina noted steam, though only a small amount, was still present as it wafted into the air from the mug. She smiled and sat down.

“Thank you,” she said over the rim of the mug before she took a careful sip. It was a spectacular apple cinnamon blend and her eyes slipped closed with the pleasurable comfort it provided.

“I suppose you’ll be leaving for the castle as soon as possible,” Erica asked and looked over her shoulder to see Regina when she answered.

“That _is_ the plan,” she replied and set the tea back down, but kept her hands wrapped around the warm mug. “That isn’t why you’re up this early, is it?”

Erica chuckled and confessed, “Of course it is. I have to see you off and make sure you’re feed before you decide to carelessly chase after your love without putting your health and well-being first. She can’t love you if you aren’t well. Or _alive_.”

Regina laughed and Erica joined in, the words said and meant as a joke regardless of the truth that still resided in them. Regina never put herself first when it came to her and Emma. The blonde’s needs always came before her own and Regina would starve herself, refuse sleep, and rush into the lion’s den if it meant Emma would be safe or happy or both. But it was also Emma’s needs to have Regina live so poofing into the palace and stealing Emma away—even if both of them wanted it—would surely be the end of her existence. That would hurt Emma more than the distance they’d kept over the last few days so she hadn’t rushed into the lion’s den, hadn’t pushed her luck, and it still served Emma’s needs more than her own. She would gladly die for the other woman, but she would resist the urge to go on a suicide mission if it wasn’t absolutely necessary to _protect_ the princess.

“You’re right. Plus, it wouldn’t do if my spell doesn’t last the entire time I’m at the palace and even worse if the spell wears off and I look horrifyingly unappealing from avoiding meals,” Regina continued to joke.

“Damn right,” Erica agreed with a large smile and moved the food from the pan to some plates. She only took a moment at the stove once the food was ready before she served Regina and herself and sat across the table from the brunette.

Regina pushed the food around on her plate for a short while before she finally took a few bites. They ate in silence at first and the longer the silence went on for the more withdrawn Regina appeared.

“What’s wrong, dear,” Erica asked. “I thought you were excited? No other reason to be up almost before even the sun if you’re not excited.”

“I want this to work,” Regina admitted. “I _need_ this to work.”

“Why wouldn’t it? You’re a skilled and powerful sorceress and I have every bit of confidence in you.”

“That isn’t the part that worries me. I can get past the guards and I can fool Snow and her prince, but Emma is guarded constantly. What if I can never drop the act and she never knows it’s really me?”

Erica grinned and shook her head.

“Oh, dear, trust me. She’ll know it’s you.” The other woman practically sang the last of her words and she seemed so sure. “Now, do you have a look in mind?”

“No, not yet.”

“Well, you’ll just have to think of something.”

Regina hummed and ate more of her food like she actually had an appetite, which she did except she was never interested in food when she was worried. With her fears momentarily pushed aside, she tried to enjoy the calm morning before she threw herself into the fire in an attempt to spend the time she so desperately wanted with her love.

“Do me a favor, love,” Erica started to say when they were both close to finishing their meal. Regina looked up and gave Erica her full attention as she waited for the woman to continue. “When you adapt a new appearance, promise me you won’t stray too far from yourself. It would be a shame to see Emma and have you look something like Adele.”

Erica winked and Regina wasn’t entirely sure what she meant, but she had an idea. She asked to be sure. “And what’s wrong with how Adele looks?”

“She doesn’t have that Latina fire you so clearly do,” Erica elaborated and then it all made sense.

Regina smirked and said, “That was never going to be a problem.”

Erica chuckled and Regina had the last bite of her food before she collected the plates and graciously cleaned them for her hostess.

“Thank you for letting me stay last night,” Regina said as she kept her hands busy with the dishes.

“What else would I have done? Sent you back to your palace in the middle of the night so you could stay there, _alone_ , after you spent hours in front of the mirror talking to the one person you miss most? Never.”

Regina smiled and ducked her head almost bashfully. It wasn’t something she’d done in front of Erica since she was a child and suddenly it seemed like Emma’s more youthful ways were rubbing off on her. She couldn’t find it in herself to care when it meant she had a piece of Emma gratefully stuck within, a piece of Emma she exuded in the way she held herself around the few people she trusted.

After breakfast, Regina woke up Adele and said her goodbyes before she toyed with her temporary new identity. She made herself only a few years younger than her magic normally made her appear and left her skin the same olive color, but she shortened her hair and made it a little darker. She made the scar above her upper lip disappear and reduced the size of her plump lips ever so slightly. She tried to find a more fitting style for the Lady she would pretend to be, something Emma might also appreciate, and after several minutes of debating and second opinions from Erica and Adele she chose simplistic dresses that were still gorgeous and a few riding outfits from her own closet, which she slightly altered to help keep up appearances.

“Regina,” Erica breathed out with so much pride, “she will fall in love with you all over again when she sees you like this.”

“Definitely,” Adele agreed and nodded her head with a wide smile.

“Be careful,” Erica said and tried to pull Regina into a hug that Regina immediately stepped away from. “What? You’re not going to hug me anymore after last night?”

“I don’t hug,” Regina insisted as her temporary new self.

“Regina Mills,” Erica scolded with a smile, “don’t tell me you don’t hug when you initiated the one last night. It was the first time you hugged me since your father’s passing and I will not let it be the last time you hug me for another few years. Now get over here and hug me.”

Regina rolled her eyes but failed to hide the way she lit up at the thought that she still had someone looking out for her. Even at her old age, she was still loved and cared for by someone she’d been close to almost all of her life. She moved in and wrapped her arms tightly around Erica and soon after, Adele clung to both of them in a group hug. The three of them laughed together and held back tears as they said their final goodbyes before Regina went out and risked everything to be with Emma just a little longer.

“Good luck, girl,” Erica said as she watched Regina leave. She pulled Adele into her side and held her there while she let Regina go off and hopefully achieve the only thing she ever wanted in her life until her last breath.

* * *

Emma walked along the outer edge of the garden with the Duke. She hadn’t been much for conversation and continued to ask him questions they both knew he probably should have been asking her. Despite that, he answered her inquiries and kept a comfortable space between them so she didn’t feel pressured or crowded or in any way uncomfortable. She appreciated it even though she'd still rather be anywhere else. It wasn’t his fault. The Duke wasn’t poor company, he was actually the opposite. It just wasn’t his company she wanted. Same problem, different day.

“Why not tell me about yourself, Princess? What do you like to do in your spare time,” he asked and slowed his pace. 

Emma slowed down with him even though walking faster made her feel like she was that much closer to the end of their time for the day.

“I’m sure there isn’t much you don’t already know about me.”

“Of course there is. How can I know anything about you if we’ve never formally talked?”

“My parents. You’ve known me for years. I’ve seen you around the castle since I was a maturing young girl. I have no doubt they’ve talked about me for at least some of that time. It isn’t like you are solely an advisor here. You’ve stayed for dinner, you’ve joked with my father, you’ve helped my mother find a few of the workers we have here. You know this family well and I am a part of this family.”

“You make a good point, but I haven’t spoken with the King and Queen about you in a while. I’ve heard a few of their concerns, but I haven’t actually heard about you. Besides, information is always better from the source. Don’t you agree?”

He smiled at her and she supposed it was meant to be kind and teasing, but that was the moment that made her itch to flee from him. He didn’t frighten her and she didn’t wonder about his intentions. He wasn’t being anything but sweet and sincere. She just didn’t want him to get any closer to her, mentally, physically, or emotionally. She just wanted to be back in front of a mirror—any mirror—and talk with Regina the whole day through. She almost did the previous day, but was torn away from her mirror to spend time with the Commander before dinner.

Just as the Duke opened his mouth to speak and lifted a hand seemingly to brush hair of her face, there was a rustling followed by an “oof” from inside the garden. It took less than a minute for two nearby guards to yank an intruder onto their feet. She and the Duke forgot their conversation completely to see the guards drag a woman with dark hair and a dirty and torn dress, which Emma didn’t think looked as ruffled until after her trip in the garden, toward the palace.

“Your Highness,” one of the guards regarded her before the two of them tried to walk past her and the Duke.

The woman locked eyes with her for a brief moment, her expression unreadable, before she ducked her head and struggled against the grip of the guards.

“Wait,” Emma spun around and grabbed one of the guards by the arm. “Where are you taking her?”

“To the King and Queen.”

“What is her crime?”

“Trespassing. She was making her way through the garden and we haven’t received word about any new arrivals. No one else aside from everyone that’s already here should be within the castle boundaries.”

“It isn’t like I’m an assassin,” the woman retorted and immediately the guards jostled and gripped her harder.

“Unhand her,” Emma demanded.

“Your Highness,” the Duke cut in. “The guards just said she was lurking in the garden and she tried to joke about killing the King and Queen. She should be detained at the very least.”

Emma stared at the woman long enough for her to finally look up and properly acknowledge the princess. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw dark eyes that warmed her soul. She couldn’t explain it, but she felt a connection to this woman. The woman didn’t have to say a word. They spoke with just a look. And then guilt settled over her because she shouldn’t have been able to connect and trust a perfect stranger. Only Regina. Still, her guilt didn’t change the way she felt. She wouldn’t hold it against the other woman and allow her to be punished for something so trivial.

“Did either of you ask her what she was doing in the garden or did you just assume what she was up to,” Emma asked and lifted her chin with the authority she had over the guards.

The two of them looked at each other for a moment with furrowed brows and then turned back to Emma.

“What else could she have been up to?”

The woman sighed and rolled her eyes. Emma saw it and felt a strong sense of familiarity.

“Why don’t we ask her,” Emma replied and then stepped closer to the other woman.

The woman looked up at her from her slightly hunched position in the guards' hold and Emma swore she saw a hint of an amused, maybe even proud, smirk. She tilted her head to the side and squinted at the woman as she tried to figure her out even though she still didn’t see the woman as a true threat.

“What were you doing in the garden,” Emma finally asked the one thing, and most important thing, the guards failed to ask.

“Trying to pick flowers for you, your Highness,” the woman answered and then Emma was sure the woman was grinning.

Emma laughed. “Were you really?”

“Well, I didn’t make it far. I stumbled after barely making it over the fence and then your guards swarmed me.”

“Guards,” Emma started to say and looked from the woman to the men that stood on either side of her. “Unhand her. She has done nothing wrong.”

“But, your Highness,” one of them tried to argue, but she refused to hear anything more from them.

“Let her go. If she causes any problems I will take responsibility. Thank you.”

Reluctantly, the guards released her and nodded out of respect before they took their leave.

The woman looked from Emma to the Duke and back again.

“You are very kind, your Highness,” the woman said with a curtsy.

“My kindness might not entirely be about you, I’m afraid. I…know what it's like to be unfairly held against your will.”

Emma didn’t think much about her words before she said them. She only considered how much she should or wanted to share with a stranger. It was only when the woman looked to Emma’s right that the princess remembered the Duke was still there.

She cringed, tense from the neck down, when she looked over at the Duke who didn’t seem in agreement with her decision about the woman and didn’t like the sound of her latest words about imprisonment. She hoped, though she knew it was probably futile, that the Duke wouldn’t talk about the encounter with her parents.

Emma turned her attention back to the woman. Part of her wished that in doing so the Duke would suddenly no longer be an issue. He would just disappear or something.

“My apologies. I don’t believe I learned your name,” Emma said.

The woman hesitated like she needed a moment to think about it.

“Lily. Lady Lily, your Highness,” the woman answered after a moment.

“Lily,” Emma asked and briefly looked over at the garden before she stared into near obsidian eyes. “And you were trying to pick flowers.”

Emma turned the question into statement. She started to believe less of what Lily was saying, but oddly enough she still felt a sense of trust and connection regardless.

Lily smiled at her and nodded. “Yes. In fact, those were also the flowers I wanted to pick for you. I figured it would be a memorable way to meet.”

“Indeed,” Emma smiled back, slightly amused.

Lily flashed her a sort of knowing smile and it threw Emma off for a moment until she realized she'd sounded more like Regina in the last few minutes than she sounded like herself, or a Charming. Lily's expression was forgotten then and instead she smiled to herself, pleased to know that Regina had left her mark on her.

The Duke cleared his throat and again Emma was reminded that she wasn’t alone.

“If you’ll excuse me,” she politely said to Lily. “I should be going. Thank you for attempting to gift me with lilies. I hope to see you around soon.”

Lily's smile widened. “I’ll do my best.”

Emma nodded as she and the Duke started to head back to the palace. She worried that she felt too strongly about someone who wasn’t Regina. She felt like she was breaking a promise to the older woman and that by feeling the way she did about Lily meant that she had lied to Regina. She had told Regina, and her parents, that while she preferred women she also only had eyes for Regina. After meeting Lily, the devastating truth was that maybe she could grow to like someone else. That thought deeply pained her.

She had barely made it more than five steps from the garden when her chest felt hot—burning hot, but in a good way. She touched her dress over her chest where, beneath the smooth fabric, her necklace resided. She smiled as she felt Regina with her and slowly started to relax, not knowing that Regina was much closer than she thought.

* * *

Later that day the prince leered at her while her parents smiled and told her she was expected to keep his company for the next few hours, get to know him as she’d so far begun to know about the other suitors. She clenched her jaw and fists and refrained from growling at both her parents and the slimy bastard behind them as he stared cockily at her, like she would be his the moment they stepped out of the main palace doors.

Snow and Charming turned to him and kindly smiled before they nodded at him, the nod a sign of approval as they silently excused him to take Emma out for a walk or whatever kind of “date” they’d prefer. It was sickening the way Prince Aaron appeared to be a perfect gentleman in front the King and Queen when it was so far from the truth. Emma just knew he would try or say something during their time that day and it made her stomach swirl with nausea that she had to swallow when it reached her throat.

Prince Aaron threaded their arms and led her out of the palace and she looked over her shoulder with obvious disdain for Snow and Charming as she glared at them. Unfortunately, there was also a flash of fear that flickered in green eyes when Aaron tightened his grip on her arm and tugged her just that little bit closer to his side. That fear was missed by her parents as they encouraged her to go on and to mind her manners with looks and a couple of gestures, mostly given by Snow.

Emma steeled her expression then and realized she was on her own. She couldn’t wait for her parents to step in and she couldn’t hold out hope that her knight in shining armor, that Regina, would be able to swoop in and come to her defense. She was on her own and it was entirely her parents’ fault. And she would rather spend her time hating them then fearing Prince Aaron so she focused her attention on all the things she wished she could do to punish the King and Queen for sending her off with such an awful human being time and time again. It was as she and the prince rounded the castle and approached the grand fountain and sitting area at the back of the palace grounds that she turned her thoughts into fantasies about using her magic to punish her parents. That’s when she realized that while she didn’t know much about her magic, and still didn’t have much control over it, she had a way to defend herself. She didn’t have to wait for anyone to save her. She had the opportunity to try and save herself.

She wasn’t sure she’d ever been more thankful for Regina in that moment because while Regina might not have been there to step in, Regina had been the one to teach her and give her most of the tools she needed to be anything but a damsel in distress. Regina didn’t even need to be there for her to do so much more for her than her own parents. It was unbelievable. Emma might have been a grown woman, but sometimes she still needed her parents. She didn’t need them to watch her like a hawk and lock her up. She just needed them to listen to her, to protect her from _Aaron_ and not Regina. Prince Aaron was the real threat and Emma was furious that they still couldn’t see that.

She almost heavily sighed out loud as her thoughts consumed most of her senses, but she felt herself being guided onto the stone bench in front of the fountain. She immediately came out of her thoughts and back into reality. She was with Prince Aaron and she would have to be for the next half hour at the very least before she could claim she wasn’t feeling too well and leave him to his own devices. She needed to be extremely aware and alert until she could leave him so she tensed where she sat as he took the spot beside her on the bench. She controlled her breathing as it threatened to become erratic from the anger she felt rising within and she reminded herself to keep composure, at least for as long as possible.

“Did you have an absolutely boring time with the Duke? He seems a little stuffy,” Prince Aaron joked with that slimy smirk of his.

Emma grimaced, but masked her emotions a second later. “Actually, he’s not as stuffy as someone simple minded might think.”

Aaron’s smirk fell. He didn’t look angry, but he didn’t look as smug as he had before. He almost looked neutral, as if he didn’t know how to take that statement.

“Well,” Aaron tried again, “I’m sure an olderman like that doesn’t have the stamina to keep up with someone of your young age and vitality.”

“I’m not even sure a man _your_ age could do such a thing,” Emma replied. If the prince was going to speak with double meanings she wasn’t going to stop him, but she was going to beat him at his own game. Belittle him. It would at least make him feel less confident and that was really all she could do since she hadn’t been able to stop his antics any other time.

“I’ll take that as a challenge,” he grinned.

“Don’t,” she insisted. She might have been wrong about the lack of confidence thing.

 Aaron grunted as he stretched and extended his arms and then let one drape over her shoulders. She stiffened under his touch and squirmed on the bench in an attempt to slide away from him. His arm only pulled her in to him more when she tried to get away.

“I would be happy to show you. A woman your age that hasn’t been married… People start to talk,” he started to say. “Someone should really show you a good time at least once before you become an old maid. Unless…you aren’t pure. Is that why no one will marry you?”

Emma rolled her eyes and tried to yank his arm off of her shoulders. “In case you haven’t noticed, there are plenty of suitors in the palace and all seem very willing to try for my hand. My purity isn’t what’s in question. I’m very picky.”

“Picky, prudish, whatever helps you sleep at night,” Aaron chuckled as he leaned in.

Emma wriggled around several times to no avail and soon she felt his breath on her face. It came out hot and in quick puffs as though what he was doing, or about to do, was a bit of a work out for him. His arm dropped a little lower around her so that his hand grazed her collarbone on its descent toward one of her breasts. She was far beyond uncomfortable. She was repulsed and pissed and she just needed to find it in herself to access her magic. Until then, she could only use her words.

“Stop,” she demanded, not as loud as she could have been but still firm and direct.

“Stop what,” he said just as his hand started to grope her breast. He gave it a squeeze and she shoved him in the chest.

“Get your hands off me,” she yelled and continued to push, shove, and hit him wherever she could.

“I just want to show you a good time. I want to show you what you’re missing. You know I’m going to win this foolish competition anyway so our union now shouldn’t be frowned upon later.”

She turned her head away just as he tried to give her a rough and wet kiss so instead it landed on her cheek. It was sloppy and disgusting and the persistent prick made sure he had her where he wanted her because the next thing he did was use his free hand to grip her chin.

Aaron forced her to face him and then crashed their lips together. She started to kick at him as she continued to punch his shoulders and chest with raging fists. Thankfully, she started to feel her magic opening itself up to her. All she had to do was channel it into something that would get him off of her, maybe something that would get him _far away_ as well.

The instant his mouth left hers she shrieked and shouted, “Help!” Her magic wasn’t doing anything for her just yet and she couldn’t find a way to channel it. She was too focused on trying to make it stop that she wasn’t able to command her magic to assist her and suddenly, she felt utterly defenseless.

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to do, Princess,” Aaron breathed against her lips before he quickly moved in and claimed them with another dreadful kiss.

He tried to slam his tongue past her pursed lips. She opened her mouth, but only so she could bite down fast and hard on his tongue. It worked and he yelped in pain before he jumped back a little on the bench. He unfortunately still kept a firm hold on her and she continued to struggle in his grasp.

She took a deep breath and pulled her hands away from his chest for a moment, her palms facing out toward him as she forced her magic to travel through her arms and toward her open hands.

“Bitch,” he yelled and tried to push her onto her back on the bench as he continued his assault.

As he advanced on her she felt her magic pulse and wondered if on contact it would blast him back, because that was all she really wanted in that moment. She wanted him away. She wanted him off. She wanted him gone. She was terrified and upset and she was on the verge of tears as the last shred of hope started to dwindle inside her.

And then there was a whoosh of air and Prince Aaron’s hands were no longer on her. Her eyes had only been closed for a moment as she tried her best to fight off her tears and when she opened them, she was alone on the bench. She looked over to see Aaron on the ground, a good distance from the bench, and then she stared down at her hands. Her magic still felt coiled up inside her. She hadn’t felt the release. Whenever she’d used magic with Regina, when she’d had her lessons, she always felt a release. It wasn’t possible. It hadn’t been her magic. It had to be—

“Are you alright,” she heard a familiar voice ask with concern.

Emma turned and saw that woman, Lily, rush toward her with panicked eyes.

“You- What- How are you…here,” Emma asked.

“Did he hurt you,” Lily asked in response and reached out to touch her.

Emma flinched and shot onto her feet. She stumbled back a few steps to put some distance between her and the other woman.

“You have magi- Was that you,” Emma asked as she looked from Lily to Aaron as he lie completely still on the ground, but groaned just loud enough for both women to know he was still conscious. “Did you do that?”

Lily gulped and nodded, her eyes as wide as Emma’s, and she almost looked a little sad, hurt, after Emma had moved away from her.

Emma looked her over from head to toe and saw that she was in the same dress from earlier that day despite the patches of dirt and grass stains from her stumble in the garden. She also noticed a chain around her neck. Whatever was attached to it wasn’t visible beneath her modest dress. Emma hadn’t noticed a necklace before, but before she had only been staring at those alluring eyes. Emma looked into those eyes again, dark and wide and clearly concerned far more than any stranger should have been. Again, she was hit with familiarity and then she was hit with a wave of warmth when Lily touched a hand to her dirty dress.

“You don’t have to worry, my love,” Lily said and Emma almost ran for the hills to hear the woman say “my love”, but she remained rooted to the spot as she noticed a slight shift in voice. “I’m here now.”

Wisps of purple magic swirled around Lily’s body and the woman transformed into Regina.

Emma gasped and touched her necklace through her own dress. Regina smiled and lifted the chain around her neck to reveal the necklace Lily—Regina—wore. It was Daniel’s ring.

“Regina,” Emma breathed out with overwhelming relief. “It was you.”

Regina nodded and took a few steps toward her. Emma didn’t move away that time.

“Are you hurt? Did he…? What did he do, Emma,” the brunette asked as she closed the distance between them and caressed her cheek.

Emma shook her head and started with, “How much did you see?”

“Enough, but not enough to know what happened before I got here.”

“He just…kissed me. And his hands were on my chest. He…he almost pinned me down, but…then you were here.”

Regina took a deep breath and tried to calm her emotions. The brunette nodded again and then pulled her into a hug. Regina kissed her forehead before she wrapped her arms around her frame and then held her close, perfectly and comfortably close.

“I tried to use my magic,” Emma said into Regina’s hair before she burrowed her face into the crook of the woman’s neck. “I couldn’t get it to work fast enough though.”

“That might actually have been a good thing.”

“What?” Emma pulled away from Regina just enough to stare into chocolate brown eyes, finally back to their normal color after her magical transformation.

“The less people know about your magic or just how much control, or lack thereof, you have of it, the better. Now, where are your guards? Don’t your parents have them around you all the time?”

“Apparently not,” Emma grumbled and looked down at the ground with a frown.

Regina brushed the pad of her thumb over Emma’s cheekbone and gently coaxed Emma to look at her again. She smiled at the blonde when she was successful.

“Well, that’s only unfortunate until I get to do this,” Regina said and slowly leaned in.

Regina took Emma’s breath away with a tender kiss. She curled her fingers around the fabric of Regina’s dress just below her shoulder blades and pressed her body flush against the brunette’s. Emma melted in Regina’s arms as the kiss lingered, not quite chaste but definitely more than a quick and friendly peck. Emma felt the love and care Regina felt for her flow between them at every point of contact. Their lips, their hands, their chests, their hearts. She felt it spread throughout her. She felt it everywhere.

Prince Aaron groaned again and Emma and Regina turned their attention to him as they stayed wrapped around each other for another moment.

“What do we do about him,” Emma asked.

Aaron slowly started to pick himself up off the ground and rubbed at his neck and shoulders as he straightened out. A moment later he was finally able to look over at the two of them. His eyes widened, comically so, when he saw Regina.

“The-the- You’re the Evil Queen,” he sputtered.

Surprisingly, Emma was the one to smirk at his discovery. Regina just glared at him.

“That’s right,” Regina replied in her low, threatening Evil Queen voice. “And Princess Emma is under _my_ protection. So unless you have a death wish, I suggest you stay away from her. Tell _anyone_ that I was here and I’ll have you strung up in my dungeon for days, bleeding, crying, and screaming out for someone to release you. Do I make myself clear?”

Aaron wiped away all traces of fear on his face and nodded his understanding.

“Good,” Regina said. “Now run along and find something to do until supper.”

Aaron huffed, displeased with the turn of events, but followed orders and left Emma and Regina alone by the fountain.

“Thank you,” Emma said.

“Always, my love. There is no need to thank me for taking care of you.”

“Yes. There is,” Emma insisted before she initiated the next kiss between them.

Regina smiled halfway through the kiss and soothingly ran her hands up and down Emma’s back and sides.

“You were different before,” Emma said when the kiss ended. “Lily?”

Regina’s smile brightened. “It was the only way I thought I could get past your parents and their guards.”

“You almost didn’t,” Emma pointed out.

“That was an accident.”

“You accidentally tripped? I thought you were a queen.”

“I am.”

“Aren’t queens a little more refined than that,” Emma laughed.

“Your clumsiness has spread, dear. It is entirely your fault I’m not as ‘refined’ as I used to be.”

“Well, never mind that,” Emma changed the subject. “How long can you allow yourself to be Lily?”

“As long as I need, granted my magic and energy don’t fail me.”

“Okay,” Emma beamed, and it started to worry Regina.

“Why do you look so happy about that? You don’t like me more when I look like that, do you?”

“No,” Emma quickly assured her. “Of course not. I love youas you and no one else.”

“Then why are you smiling?”

“Because I know how you can stay.”

Regina raised a curious brow.

“You’re going to enter the competition,” Emma explained.

“I- What?”

“My parents said they didn’t have a problem with me liking other women. They said if I met _anyone_ other than the suitors here and fell in love with them they would gladly support it as long as it wasn’t you. Well, being Lily means you aren’t really you. I mean, not to everyone else.”

“But Emma, the suitors, the competition… They have to _fight_ for you.”

“And?”

“I- I can’t fight without magic,” Regina confessed with a frown.

The light in Emma’s eyes almost instantly disappeared. “You can learn. I’ve trained with the guards before and so can you. You’d be the only woman in the competition and you’re posing as a Lady. No one would expect you to know how to fight so I think I could convince my parents to allow you time to practice. Unless…you don’t want to compete?”

“Oh, Emma. I will fight for you every chance I get. I’m just…afraid.”

Emma’s smile returned and she ran her fingers through Regina’s hair, which was pleasantly free from any clips, pins, or ties.

“You will never lose me. No matter what happens, I will choose you. Will you try? Try to do this for me?”

Regina rested her forehead against Emma’s and nodded. “Of course I will. Anything for you, my love.”

“Okay,” Emma quietly said. “Poof to my chamber. I’ll meet you there to watch the sunset before dinner. You are _not_ leaving my side tonight.”

Regina shook her head and smiled. “As you wish, your Highness.”

Emma gave her another kiss. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Don’t make me wait too long,” Regina replied.

“Never,” Emma said, and it was a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Today's been a good day for Swan Queen. First, SQ week starts tomorrow. Then, the OUAT cast pic at SDCC had Jen and Lana next to each other and then they sat together for the panel. After that, the OUAT Virtual Series posted a new chapter and I was able to finish and update this. :)
> 
> Also, in case anyone's interested, Sea Devil Week theme voting is happening right now. Go to the seadevil-week blog on Tumblr for more info.


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